Region

AgriLink studied two regions in France. Gers is a very rural agricultural county (NUTS3) in the southwest of France. Agriculture provides 12% of local employment, and it is one of the most important regions for crop production in the country. Since the early 2000s, the number of farms has declined by nearly 20%, whilst the average farm size has increased sharply to 86.5 hectares (well above the national average). Pyrénées Atlantiques (PA) is located south of Gers. It is one of the 3 French counties (out of 95) with a high proportion (16-18%) of farms whose management of all cropping operations (cereals, oilseeds and protein crops) is outsourced to various types of agricultural service provider.

Study focus

The study focused on innovative labour arrangements linked to the outsourcing of farm operations. The outsourcing of certain farm operations is a longstanding practice in France, especially on small farms which do not have the necessary equipment or labour for activities such as harvesting. However, in recent years the type of services outsourced has changed.

Between 2000 and 2016, the number of farms making use of outsourced services more than doubled as the uptake of sophisticated new technologies that require specific technical skills (conservation tillage, phytosanitary treatments with computerised technologies, etc.) increased. This case study examined a) the role of farm advisory systems in guiding farmers in adopting these new outsourcing practices and b) the broader impact of outsourcing on the advisory landscape.

The full report (in English) is here

Partner and responsible person contact

National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE)

Pierre Labarthe, pierre.labarthe@inrae.fr

Lessons learned

1. Farmers’ decisions to use these new forms of work organisation correspond to four main types of needs: (i) outsourcing of activities as part of a redesign of the production system, (ii) outsourcing of crop activities to rationalise investments in machinery and to focus on the core activity, (iii) “A to Z” outsourcing for patrimonial reasons, to keep control on the land, and (iv) outsourcing because of the difficulties to find and manage reliable staff. They then adjust according to their geographical environment (e.g. available contractors) and organisational environment (e.g. their networks of other farmers, various sources of advice), to find the best possible advice to implement these strategies
2. There is an increased demand for advice related to farm labour management, but few advisors can provide such advice. This is a new advisory market that is expected to grow whereby the global performance of the farm depends not only on technical skills but also on managerial skills. Some traditional actors, such as cooperatives and accounting firms, are seeking to develop these skills through the long-term relationship they have established with farmers for other purposes.