Montpellier Scientific Community



Innovation and Development in Agriculture and the Agrifood Sector (INNOVATION)

Director: Christophe Soulard
soulard@supagro.inra.fr
Website:
Research area
The research unit Innovation and Development in Agriculture and the Agrifood Sector (INNOVATION) conducts research on these innovation processes, which are seen as individual and collective action processes on a technical and organizational level. It covers the whole of the process, from actors' reasons for innovating up to the development effects generated by the innovations. It works in France and overseas , with numerous researchers and research projects worldwide. The UMR's interdisciplinary project is a pool of expertise in agronomy and social sciences (economics, sociology and geography).
Research highlights
  • Agri Food Systems
  • Farming systems and Extension Services
  • Urban Agriculture
Staff profile
Research org.

Researchers

Professors Research Eng. Tech. and Admin. Staff PhD
CIRAD - INRA - SUPAGRO
53
43
7
2
10
Research teams

· Technical and Organizational Changes in Agricultural Production Systems (SPACTO)

· Social construction of Markets, Qualities and Territorial Development (MarQualTer)

· Territorial Innovation in Urban Agriculture (IT)
Most important international partnership

Some Unit members scientists are actually working in partnership (as associated professors/researchers or visiting scientists) with Santa Catarina Federal University (Brazil), Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (Mexico), University of Pretoria (South Africa), University of Ghana (Ghana), Centre International de Recherche-Développement sur l'Elevage en zone Subhumide (CIRDES, Burkina-Faso), Agricultural Research for Development Institute (Cameroon), National Law School of Bangalore (India).

International laboratory "AGRITERRIS" - Agricultural Activities, Territories and Local agri-food systems" with the "Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA, Argentina), 3 Argentinean Universities (Un Nacional de la Plata, Un Nacional de Mar del Plata, Un Nacional del Sur), INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, Toulouse-Le Mirail University -with actual extension to University Federal of Para- Brazil)

Organisation of the International Symposium ISDA "Innovation and Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Food", june 2010 (http://www.isda2010.net/fr/). Proceedings : http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ISDA2010 . Co-organisation of International Congresses on "Localised Food Systems" and cofounding of an European Research Group with Universities of Wageningen (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Corvinius-Budapest (Hungary), Firenze, Parma, Pisa, Ancona, Cassino, Turino, Bari, Verona, Teramo, La Sapienza-Roma (Italy), Tras-os-montes & Alro duro (Portugal), CSIC, Jaen , Sevilla (Spain), Panteion (Greece), Agridea (Switzerland), Toulouse 1 (France) -December 2007

Numerous training international partnerships: Masters of Science "Local Innovation Processes and Rural Development" in Argentina, workshop on geographical indications for Middle Eastern & North African agri-food products with the World Bank Group, program "Ecology, Culture and Politics of food in France" for Michigan State University students, International training module on "geographical indications: a way forward for local development" with AGRIDEA -Switzerland- and World Intellectual Property Organization.

 
Facts and figures
Publications in international ranking journals
2010: 24 (partial)
2002 - 2009: 125
Representative publications

Andrieu N., Nogueira D.M., 2010. Modeling biomass flows at the farm level: A discussion support tool for farmers. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 30(2): 505-513. [20100504]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/agro/2009047

Chabrol D., Muchnik J., 2011. Consumer skills contribute to maintaining and diffusing heritage food products. Anthropology of food [Online] , 8 | 2011 , Online since 12 mai 2011, URL : http://aof.revues.org/index6809.html

Chiffoleau, Y. 2009. From Politics to Co-operation: The Dynamics of Embeddedness in Alternative Food Supply Chains. Sociologia Ruralis 49: 218-235.

Faure G., Hocdé H., Chia E. 2011. Action-research to reconcile product standardization and diversity of agricultural practices: the case of farmers' organizations in Costa Rica exporting Marginata Verde and pineapple. Action Research Journal. http://arj.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/12/23/1476750310388056.full.pdf+html

Faure, G., Gasselin P., Triomphe B., Temple L., Hocdé H., (eds), 2010. Innover avec les acteurs du monde rural : La recherche-action en partenariat. Versailles: Quae, Cta, Presses agronomiques de Gembloux.

Le Gal P-Y., Mérot A., Moulin C-H., Navarrete M., Wery J., 2010. A modelling framework to support farmers in designing agricultural production systems. Environmental modelling and software, 25: 258-268.

Nougarèdes B., Soulard C-T. 2010. Integrating farm buildings in peri-urban land planning: a social issue, In Agricultural management in peri-urban areas. The expérience of an international workshop, Galli M., Lardon S., Marraccini E., E. B. (eds.), Felici Editore Srl, Ghezzano (PI), Italy: 120-129.

Robineau O., Chatelet M., Soulard C-T., Michel-Dounias I., J. P. 2010. Integrating Farming and Paramo Conservation: A Case Study From Colombia. Mountain Research and Development, 30(3): 212-221. <Go to ISI>://000281161000004

Total annual budget
2009
Total annual budget (k€- excluding salaries) 2 942
External contracts (k€):  
2 319
ANR 511
EU 451 
Private sector
257
Others 1 098