Towards local agri-food systems: operational lessons from the Positive Agriculture Territories programme

Since 2019, first in the Massif Central and then in New Aquitaine French regions, the Positive Agriculture Territories programme has been supporting 27 project leaders to encourage the emergence of local multi-stakeholder projects combining agricultural transition, territorial development and sustainable management of water resources. This call for projects supports the development of new intermediary sectors that make the most of local natural, human and economic resources. This ambition for local agri-food schemes raises a number of practical questions: What new stakeholder groups need to be mobilised? How can they be mobilised? How can technical, economic and institutional coordination be maintained in these new sectors? Based on an analysis of 4 contrasting projects, we propose a number of ways to address the concerns shared by project leaders.