Perennial transitions from market gardening towards mixed fruit tree - vegetable systems

• Published in: Agricultural systems 2023-04, Vol.207, p.103635, Article 103635
• Main Authors: De Lapparent, Alice, Sabatier, Rodolphe, Paut, Raphaël, Martin, Sophie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural sciences; Agriculture, economy and politics; Agroforestry; Crop diversification; Life Sciences; Mixed horticultural farm; Perennial transition; Viability theory
• ISSN: 0308-521X; 1873-2267
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2023.103635

Planting fruit trees in a market gardening system creates a mixed fruit tree – vegetable system with the potential to address certain environmental issues. However, it results in a complex system where labor has to be allocated between the two activities. Our objective is to simulate possible trajectories for a perennial transition from market gardening to mixed fruit tree – vegetable systems, in order to study the required trade-offs. We modeled the transition using viability theory, a framework with states, controls and constraints that guarantees sustainability along a transition trajectory. It was used in two iterations, the first step computing a target to be reached during the second step. Trajectory samples were computed from the sets of viable states at each time step. In order to guarantee sustainability, at the end of the transition process the farm must not only respect the constraints but belong to a subset of the domain they define. The study of viable trajectories shows a trade-off between capital and working hours, and thus different suitable strategies for the timing of orchard planting and the choice of crop rotations. Some strategies present bottlenecks where the flexibility of the farm is greatly reduced. The variety of resulting viable trajectories means that choosing between them can call upon criteria that are not implemented in the model, such as personal preferences. The establishment of a target through viability computation and the study of trajectory sets avoids the imposition of an a priori normativity. [Display omitted] •The transition from market gardening to a mixed fruit tree – vegetable system increases the complexity of a farming system.•Using viability theory, we modeled possible trajectories for a perennial transition from market gardening to mixed systems.•We show a trade-off between capital and working hours.•This trade-off is driven by the timing of fruit tree planting and the choice of crop rotations.•The sets of viable trajectories give a wide range of possibilities that can be made compatible with individual priorities.