EQUALITER – Equity - Quality - Food - Territory

Food systems are undergoing rapid change. On the one hand, long supply chains are increasingly being formed at the global level. They are having a pronounced impact on the structure of territories and the interactions between actors of the supply chains. On the other hand, alternative models that promote regional development by leveraging local resources and by forging new producer-consumer relationships are emerging or managing to survive. Innovative institutional mechanisms – such as geographical indications, organic farming and fair trade – are being designed to promote these models and regulate exchanges between actors.

Objectives

The research undertaken by the Alistar group is aimed at understanding the interactions between innovation processes and trajectories of food systems as seen at a territorial scale. The group’s research also has the goal of helping understand and strengthen innovative regulatory mechanisms in the agrifood markets (new rules, new organizations, etc.). Finally, we analyze processes of hybridization between different territorial food systems.

Innovation processes in food systems are understood as collective action processes taking place in territories that are under construction. Our focus is on analyzing the socio-technical mechanisms that can allow the emergence of innovative regulations within these food systems. We also study these innovation processes in relationship to the territories in which they take place: these territories are sources of constraints and opportunities for collective action, and are also themselves modified by collective action.

Research topics

    Assessing the functioning and trajectory of supply chains identified with specific qualities (geographical indications, organic farming, etc.) in terms of the opportunities and constraints associated with their inscription in a food system or a territory.
    Analyzing the interactions between different production and marketing models at the territory scale (short supply chains, long supply chains, geographical indications, etc.) and their contributions to the emergence of a sustainable food system.
    Analyzing and designing innovative mechanisms in association with the actors for regulating food systems to support the development of different production and marketing models.

Diversity of innovations

The group focuses on innovations in agrifood markets, such as geographical indications or fair trade, by analyzing these innovations and improving or designing them in partnership with the actors.

Disciplines 

The disciplines called upon are sociology, geography, economics and law.

Locations

Equaliter’s activities take place in Europe (France, Italy, Reunion Island), the southern Mediterranean (Tunisia, Morocco), Central and West Africa (Burkina Faso, Cameroon), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico) and Asia (Vietnam).

Partners

Scientific partnerships: Federal University of Santa Catarina (Florianopolis, Brazil), Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FIBL, Switzerland), Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institut de recherche en sciences appliquées et technologies (IRSAT, Burkina Faso), Universities and research centres of the Mexican SYAL network (Redsial Mexico).

Scientific associations: Scientific Interest Group for Localized Agri-food Systems (SIG SYAL, European Research Group SYAL (ERG SYAL), Association des Sciences Régionales de Langue Française (ASRDLF), Société Française des Economistes Ruraux (SFER).

Development partnerships: Small agrifood enterprises, public services, agricultural associations and organizations, local development agents, African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), French Development Agency (AFD).

Diversityof innovations