Uncovering the diversity of farmers' practices to organise the redesign of a crisis-stricken sector: the case of French cherries

How can we prioritize what needs to be redesigned in an agricultural sector in crisis? The French cherry sector has been facing this question since the arrival of an invasive pest Drosophila suzukii (DS), in 2010. The economic, environmental, and social impacts associated with managing this pest (mental burden, intensive use of pesticide, economic loss, etc.) are jeopardizing the short-term future of the sector. This 'emergency situation' sparks controversies around the management strategies to prioritize (e.g., pesticide use exemptions vs. redesign) as the national and regional players involved in the management of DS lack knowledge of the current farmers' practices and the concrete problems they face in their day-to-day work. While extensive research has focused on the biology of DS, this study aims to uncover the diversity of farmers' cherry practices to bring reflexivity to collectively discuss priorities for redesigning the sociotechnical cherry system, considering emergencies. The study highlights different farmers' flies management logics and ways to address the DS issue in different situations (e.g. a highly diversified farm on a plain vs. a specialised farm on slopes). It also shed light on situated problems encountered by farmers when managing DS (e.g. work organisation, ethical issues, investment), which contrasts with the way in which national players tackle this issue. These results aim to be used in a near future to support the redesign of the sector, considering emergencies, in different design spaces involving actors engaged in the management of DS. Our results also contribute to the development of methods to support collective reflexivity in design processes in emergency situations.