Exploratory projects

Production under OA certification often entails additional costs, particularly in terms of yield variability. These additional costs can be partly offset by an increase in consumers' willingness-to-pay (WTP).

Within OA, biodynamics and syntropy have generated a certain amount of interest in the field, either via adherence or as a source of inspiration, but have been little studied.

Food products authentication as organic is a major challenge given the increasing incidence of fraud. However, determining whether a product is organic is not easy since it is not always possible to spot potential inputs that are not authorized for organic agriculture (e.g., products that are difficult to detect or confined to certain parts of the plant).

Organic agriculture (OA) is limited by the availability of nutrient resources essential for plant growth.

To accelerate the transition toward sustainable agri-food systems, the Egalim law requires that collective catering purchases at least 50% of sustainable products, including at least 20% of organic products. To meet these targets, canteens and stakeholders in the food sector have had to and will have to innovate together.

Accelerating the agroecological transition requires greater commitment from farmers and consumers alike. Stimulating the contribution of farmers raises the question of the incentives to be put in place, while taking account of structural constraints (budget management, climate change, consumer tastes, etc.).

The asynchronous estrus and farrowing in organic pig farms complicate animal management, increase workload, reduce farm performance, and impact the homogeneity of piglet weaning weight and age. Developing alternatives to synthetic hormones, which are banned in organic farming, would make it possible to synchronize the cycles of females and facilitate herd management.

In a context of global population growth, major climate uncertain-ty and declining biodiversity, there is an urgent need to rethink feed resources for animals in ruminant livestock farming. The use of new plant resources may be an alternative. SOURCEN explored the extent to which atypical resources derived from the natural capital of livestock farms could be mobilized in terms of forage supplementation and “health value”, without compromising their sustainability and their role as habitats for biodiversity.

The aim of BEEFORBIO was to identify the diversity of breeding practices in organic and non-organic beekeeping (selection and management of bee genetic resources, diversity of individual practices, collective selection schemes). It particularly focused on selection carried out within beekeeping collectives.

Whereas certain organic plant crops are in full expansion, organic animal production is struggling to develop in France’s overseas departments and regions (DROM).