Agencing an innovative territorial trade scheme between crop and livestock farming: The contributions of the sociology of market agencements to alternative agri-food network analysis

Agencer un système d'échange territorial innovant entre culture et élevage. La contribution de la sociologie des agencements marchands à l'analyse des réseaux agri-alimentaires alternatifs

Ronan Le Velly (1) , Marc Moraine (1)

1 UMR Innovation - Innovation et Développement dans l'Agriculture et l'Alimentation

The aim of this article is to show the relevance of the sociology of market agencements (an offshoot of actor-network theory) for studying the creation of alternative agri-food networks. The authors start with their finding that most research into alternative agri-food networks takes a strictly informative, cursory look at the conditions under which these networks are gradually created. They then explain how the sociology of market agencements analyzes the construction of innovative markets and how it can be used in agri-food studies. The relevance of this theoretical frame is shown based on an experiment aimed at creating a local trade scheme between manure from livestock farms and alfalfa grown by grain farmers. By using the concepts of the sociology of market agencements, the authors reveal the operations that are required to create an alternative agri-food network and underscore the difficulties that attend each one of these operations. This enables them to see the phenomena of lock-ins and sociotechnical transition in a new light.

Mots clés: Alternative agri-food networks; Agroecology; Actor-network theory; Innovation; Marketization; Crop-livestock integration

Domaines: Sociologie

Ronan Le Velly, Marc Moraine. Agencing an innovative territorial trade scheme between crop and livestock farming: The contributions of the sociology of market agencements to alternative agri-food network analysis. Agriculture and Human Values, 2020, ⟨10.1007/s10460-020-10026-8⟩. ⟨halshs-02573572⟩