ABSTRACT
This chapter contextualizes the institutionalization of ‘agroecology’ in France. It presents an analysis of diverse discourses in the context of the implementation of a national programme supporting agroecology since 2013. The analysis presented here shows that these public policies are an emblematic case of the constrained political strategies undertaken by reformist governments in countries where agriculture is highly intensified. The first part of the chapter presents an analysis of the French government’s discourse, and some of its interventions, supporting sustainability of the agrifood system, and what it ultimately produces in terms of issue and solution-framing. The aim is to discuss the normativity and performativity underpinning these institutional practices. The second part draws attention to specific references to valued knowledge, and knowledge production processes, to support the agroecological transition. By unfolding debates on knowledge between various stakeholders of the French agricultural sector, this part intends to reveal the actors’ choices and hybridizations underpinning knowledge valuation activities.
