Which agroecology in vegetable production systems? Typology analysis of French West Indies farms

Quelle agroécologie dans les systèmes de production maraîchère ? Analyse typologique des exploitations agricoles aux Antilles françaises

Camille Luis (), Magali Aubert () and Laurent Parrot ()
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Camille Luis: UPR HORTSYS - Fonctionnement agroécologique et performances des systèmes de cultures horticoles - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Cirad-PERSYST - Département Performances des systèmes de production et de transformation tropicaux - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement
Magali Aubert: UMR MoISA - Montpellier Interdisciplinary center on Sustainable Agri-food systems (Social and nutritional sciences) - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CIHEAM-IAMM - Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier - CIHEAM - Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement
Laurent Parrot: UPR HORTSYS - Fonctionnement agroécologique et performances des systèmes de cultures horticoles - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, UM - Université de Montpellier

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Abstract: Faced with current agricultural challenges, vegetable production systems in Martinique and Guadeloupe are being called to transition towards more environmentally-friendly practices. These territories hold significant potential to address these challenges in terms of food security, sustainability and resilience to climate change. In this context, having a better understanding of the diversity of vegetable farms is an essential step in shedding light on the dynamics of agroecological practices and chemicals use. The study is based on a typological analysis of 409 farms. We first categorize farms according to their structure, their economic performance, the individual characteristics of their farmers and their additional activities. Three clusters of farms emerged: (1) the survivors which are poorly diversified, generate low incomes and operate on small surfaces; (2) the diversified which are similar to the first group but are differentiated by their high diversity in terms of crops and para-agricultural activities and by a greater use of direct sales; and (3) the big farms which are cultivated on large surfaces, need more workforce and generate a higher income. Based on this typology, we characterize their agroecological profile according to their degree of agroecological practices, pesticides and chemical fertilizers use. The results show that diversified farms are the most engaged in agroecology with less reliance on chemicals and a greater adoption of agroecological practices compared to the survivors and the big farms. This study thus allows to characterize the vegetable production systems in the French West Indies and highlights the facilitating role of diversification and small farm size in the development of agroecology.

Keywords: zones insulaires; typologie des exploitations maraîchères; pratique agricole; agroécologie; intrants de synthèse; agroecology; agricultural practices; chemicals; vegetable farms typology; insular areas; zones insulaires agroecology; agroécologie pratique agricole intrants de synthèse typologie des exploitations maraîchères zones insulaires agroecology agricultural practices chemicals vegetable farms typology insular areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-06-04
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Published in Cahiers Agricultures, 2026, 35, pp.14. ⟨10.1051/cagri/2026013⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05645706

DOI: 10.1051/cagri/2026013

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