Actions and public policies in agriculture: economic liberalization requires diversified approaches[Actions et politiques publiques dans l’agriculture : libéralisation de l’économie, diversification des approches]

Because of its impact on the environment and on human health agriculture will be faced with constraining public trade-offs in its practices and land-use forms. Ignoring this may stretch the deadline but will increase the cost of necessary choices when these must be implemented. Therefore we need to widen our approach. Analyses of agricultural economy can no longer be tackled on a sectoral basis but must take in other social elements such as foods, health, land-use change, international finance, labor markets, environmental conservation, etc. In this context, three kinds of research avenues are proposed: investigation of the roles of agriculture as coordinated with other sectors; analysis of the social background which shapes expectations regarding agriculture and the criteria leading to the elaboration of public choice; proposals for policy tools. This approach is based on diversity (of actors, of social structures and their relations with public institutions). One option would be to focus on the functioning of markets and political arenas considered as social facts and to broaden a critical analysis of national and supranational institutional proposals and structures.