# Agroecology and water: how are they integrated into the Territorial Food Project of the Carcassonne agglomeration area?

Chiara Gasperini

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Chiara Gasperini. Agroecology and water: how are they integrated into the Territorial Food Project of the Carcassonne agglomeration area?. Agriculture, economy and politics. 2025. hal-05235132

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# Agroecology and water: how are they integrated into the Territorial Food Project of the Carcassonne agglomeration area?

<figure><img src="image_2.png" /></figure>

@ official website of Carcassonne Agglo

Name student: Chiara Gasperini

Period: 2025-2026

Farming Systems Ecology Group
Droevendaalsesteeg 1
6708 PB Wageningen
The Netherlands
Agroecology and water: how are they integrated into the Territorial
Food Project of the Carcassonne agglomeration area?

Name student: Chiara Gasperini

Registration number: 1355856

Course code: FSE80436

Supervisor ISARA: Laura Solaroli

Supervisor Wageningen University and Research: Carl Timler

External supervisors: Delphine Burger-Leenhardt

Examiner: Federico Andreotti

Farming Systems Ecology Group

Droevendaalsesteeg 1

6708 PB Wageningen

The Netherlands
# TABLE OF CONTENTS

<table><tr><td>1</td><td>Abstract</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Introduction</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>2.1</td><td>Food systems and main stakes</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>2.2</td><td>Alternative food systems in France</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>2.3</td><td>Agroecology in Food Systems and Water Management</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Methodology</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>3.1</td><td>Case study site description</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>3.2</td><td>General approach</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>3.3</td><td>Description of the Carcassonne agglomeration food system</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>3.4</td><td>Categorisation and sums of initiatives and actions in each AE principle</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>3.5</td><td>Evaluation of the contribution of TFP to agroecological transition</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>3.5.1</td><td>Advancement and agroecological levels of initiatives and actions</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Results</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>4.1</td><td>Carcassonne agglomeration food system scheme</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>4.2</td><td>Agroecological potential of the Carcassonne agglomeration TFP</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>4.3</td><td>Agroecological initiatives and actions and references to water</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>4.3.1</td><td>Diagnosis</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>4.3.2</td><td>Action plan</td><td>21</td></tr><tr><td>4.3.3</td><td>Reference to water in the diagnosis and action plan</td><td>26</td></tr><tr><td>4.4</td><td>Contribution to the agroecological transition</td><td>27</td></tr><tr><td>4.4.1</td><td>Diagnosis</td><td>27</td></tr><tr><td>4.4.2</td><td>Action plan</td><td>30</td></tr><tr><td>4.4.3</td><td>Synthesis of AE evaluation</td><td>31</td></tr><tr><td>4.4.4</td><td>Synthesis for water-related initiatives and actions</td><td>32</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Discussion</td><td>34</td></tr><tr><td>5.1</td><td>Carcassonne agglomeration food system</td><td>34</td></tr><tr><td>5.2</td><td>AE transition of the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration</td><td>34</td></tr><tr><td>5.2.1</td><td>AE initiatives and AE score</td><td>34</td></tr><tr><td>5.2.2</td><td>AE transition</td><td>35</td></tr><tr><td>5.2.3</td><td>Water and agroecological transition</td><td>35</td></tr><tr><td>5.3</td><td>About the approach</td><td>37</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Conclusion</td><td>39</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Bibliography</td><td>40</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Table of figures</td><td>43</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Table of appendices</td><td>44</td></tr></table>
## Glossary

AE: Agroecological

AEL: Agroecological Level

AL: Advancement Level

FAO: Food and Agricultural Organisation

FS: Food System

HEV: High Environmental Value

HLPE: High Level Panel of Experts

PDO: Protected Designation of Origin

PGI: Protected Geographical Indication

TFP: Territorial Food Project

UMR G-EAU (Unité mixte de recherche Gestion Eau): Joint Research Unit Water Management
# 1 ABSTRACT

Since 2014, France has legally recognised Territorial Food Projects (TFPs) as a framework to engage food system (FS) stakeholders, foster the development of territorial food chains, and strengthen the establishment of more resilient FS in response to climate change. The growing urgency of challenges such as water scarcity underscores the need for FSs that can adapt to these pressures. This study examines whether TFPs contribute to the agroecological (AE) transition, with a particular focus on water management, using the case study of the Carcassonne agglomeration. Two key documents of the selected TFP - the diagnosis and the action plan - were analysed, and the initiatives and actions were categorised according to the 13 AE principles defined by HLPE (2019). An AE score was subsequently calculated. The results indicate that initiatives and actions addressed all 13 AE principles, achieving medium-to-high AE scores for both documents, thereby demonstrating a clear engagement in AE transition. Additionally, some measures emphasised an attention to preserving water. The diagnosis report primarily concentrated on water quality, particularly through the reduction of phytosanitary products. Meanwhile, the action plan focused on water quantity through the establishment of water reservoirs that can store water for agricultural purposes. Overall, the Carcassonne TFP acknowledges the significance of water resource protection and reveals emerging connections between AE transition and water management at the territorial level.

**Keywords:** TFP, Food system, AE transition, AE score, water
# 2 INTRODUCTION

## 2.1 FOOD SYSTEMS AND MAIN STAKES

Food systems (FSs) encompass the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food. They are shaped by the presence of different stakeholders, such as producers, retailers, and consumers (Ericksen 2008; FAO 2014; Rastoin 2016; HLPE 2019), and by interactions within the biophysical and human environments (Ericksen, 2008). However, nowadays, FSs face multiple challenges. On one side, monoculture, intensive farming systems and long food chains are negatively contributing to the increase of greenhouse gases and loss of biodiversity (Iglesias et al. 2012; Vermeulen et al. 2012; Béné et al. 2019). On the other side, the consequences of climate change, such as prolonged droughts, heatwaves and precipitation concentration in a short time, are seriously damaging crop production (Ceglar et al. 2019; Ray et al. 2019).

## 2.2 ALTERNATIVE FOOD SYSTEMS IN FRANCE

Since 1990, France has started discussions on developing local FSs (Lamine et al. 2023). It culminated in 2014 with the creation of the national law "Future for Agriculture and Forestry", which refers to the Territorial Food Projects (TFPs) (Law n° 1170 2014). TFPs aim to develop FSs that address social, economic and environmental dimensions (González De Molina and Lopez-Garcia 2021; von Braun et al. 2021; Felici and Mazzocchi 2022). Their objectives are to strengthen the interaction among the different stakeholders of the short local food chain, through a territorial food production and consumption (Figure 1) (OECD/FAO/UNCDF 2016; Banzo et al. 2024; Liu et al., 2024). Therefore, TFPs represent interesting case study references to study alternatives which could face the challenges mentioned above.
<figure><img src="image_3.png" /></figure>

Figure 1 Potential partners of the Territorial Food Project (TFP).
Adapted version of TFP from the French version of DRAAF Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (2023).

## 2.3 AGROECOLOGY IN FOOD SYSTEMS AND WATER MANAGEMENT

As water resources become scarcer (Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2016) and as FS need to become more resilient in the face of climate change, it is interesting to study relationships between water and its use in AE FS (Altieri et al. 2015; Aguilera et al. 2020; Altieri and Nicholls 2020). Although there are different definitions concerning agroecology, there is an agreed objective regarding diversifying FS while using few external inputs (Migliorini et al. 2018; Wezel et al. 2020). Regarding water management in alternative FS, there are a few studies. It is often associated with intensive agricultural FS rather than alternative ones (Pérez Neira 2016; Gross and Jaubert 2019; Leauthaud et al. 2025). For this reason, it is interesting to study how the TFPs help the FS to be more AE and the relationship between water management and agroecology in the TFPs, with a specific attention to the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration.
# 3 METHODOLOGY

## 3.1 CASE STUDY SITE DESCRIPTION

Carcassonne agglomeration, with a population of 113.827 inhabitants (INSEE 2025), is located in the Occitanie French administrative region. This territory is part of the Mediterranean area where main FS stakes are particularly enhanced by negative effects of climate change (Giorgi and Lionello 2008; Tuel and Eltahir 2020; Guion de Meritens et al. 2019; Raymond et al. 2018) such as severe water constraints, droughts and heatwaves (Fabre 2015; Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2016; Meritens et al. 2019; Soubeyroux et al. 2020; DREAL - Occitanie and Cerema 2021). The TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration was legally recognised in 2021. In 2022, it produced a diagnosis of the already existing FS, which enhanced the strong partnership with the FS stakeholders of the area. Then, an action plan for the desired FS was published in 2024. Therefore, it has been chosen as an appropriate case study to explore and discuss how AE transition and water management are considered in an alternative FS case study.

## 3.2 GENERAL APPROACH

In order to study the Carcassonne agglomeration TFP in a descriptive way, two types of data were used: online quantitative and qualitative data, and qualitative data extracted from 8 interviews with local stakeholders (Figure 2).

Overall, the main materials used are the diagnosis and action plan produced by the Carcassonne agglomeration (Carcassonne Agglo 2022; 2024). These are descriptive documents, but the action plan is specifically composed of 15 actions divided into three axes<fnref n="1" />.

Elements related to the 13 AE principles identified in the diagnosis are named initiatives, while

<footnote n="1">¹ The action plan was initially composed of 16 actions, but action 12 was removed by the TFP, so at the current days the TFP is working on 15 actions. The first axis refers to the renewal of the agricultural area (such as supporting agricultural activities or re-establishing an agricultural dimension in abandoned areas). The second axis is related to agriculture diversification and the creation of local food supply chains that allow the development of local food production in the agglomeration. The third axis aims at providing healthy and local diets for the population, involving citizens in food issues, and addressing social inequalities and food security. The first and second axes are composed of four actions each, while the third axis consists of eight actions.</footnote>
those identified in the action plan are named actions. For the diagnosis report, the initiatives
were selected by the student through analysis of the diagnosis report. Whereas the actions
were taken from the action plan, where each action is already listed and linked to a specific
numbered action sheet. They were used for all four main analyses:

1) Description of the Carcassonne agglomeration food system

2) Categorisation of the agroecological potential of the Carcassonne agglomeration TFP

3) Description of the agroecological initiatives and actions and references to water

4) Evaluation of the agroecological transition.

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2 General approach.</figcaption></figure>

Data extracted from interviews were used in all analyses. They consisted of semi-structured interviews. The study adopted a purposive sampling strategy. Experts on the TFP Carcassonne agglomeration were targeted through web research. Their areas of expertise concerning FS, AE transition and water were taken into account to prepare interview grids.

Overall, there were:

☐ 4 employees of the Carcassonne agglomeration,

☐ 3 employees of the local public agricultural institution, and

☐ 1 researcher on the *SagiTerres* project.
Interview durations ranged between 30 minutes and 2 hours. Regarding interviewee availability, 3 interviews were conducted face-to-face, and 5 interviews were organised online using Zoom® software. Interview grids are detailed in Appendix 2. The stakeholders were contacted following an initial list of potential key informants. The interviews were recorded and transcribed using Turbo.scribe. Some collected interviews were then copied into Word documents and coded<fnref n="2" />.

In order to process the data, the Carcassonne agglomeration FS conceptual framework is based on 3 reference documents on agroecology and FS (cf. Appendix 3):

- food system scheme (developed internally at UMR G-EAU),

- presentation of 13 AE consolidated principles by Wezel *et al.* (2020), and

- the 5 levels of transition towards sustainable food systems (Gliessman 2006).

All three are relevant to the study as they operate on the agroecosystem and FS levels. At the agroecosystem level, the principles aim to reduce external inputs, recycle resources, improve both soil and animal health, enhance synergies between all different components of the agroecosystem, and support its biodiversity as well as its economic diversification. At the FS level, the AE principles focus on establishing or reinforcing connections between producers and consumers, preserving natural resources through shared governance, and the involvement of stakeholders in FS.

Different software programs were used to produce figures. Maps were produced using QGIS. Graphs were made using Excel®. Other illustrations were drawn using the online tools Canva® and Miro®.

## 3.3 DESCRIPTION OF THE CARCASSONNE AGGLOMERATION FOOD SYSTEM

For this first analysis, the FS scheme developed internally at UMR G-EAU was used to represent visually the Carcassonne agglomeration FS (not published yet) (Appendix 3). It includes production, distribution, and consumption of food, as well as the generation of

<footnote n="2">² The interviews occurred in French, and they were translated with Deepl. Additionally, for this Master's thesis, artificial intelligence was used consciously.</footnote>
waste. It also considers waste recycling potential and the reuse of elements within the FS. In addition, it takes into account external resources such as the sociocultural and biophysical conditions. The scheme was developed based on literature referring to the FS concept with some adaptation to the specific case study (American Dietetic Association Sustainable Food System Task Force 2007; Vermeulen et al. 2012). This conceptual scheme enabled the data obtained from the TFP diagnosis report and interviews in the Carcassonne agglomeration to be organised systematically. This ensured that attention was given to the interrelationship between all phases of the FS.

## 3.4 CATEGORISATION AND SUMS OF INITIATIVES AND ACTIONS IN EACH AE PRINCIPLE

For this second analysis, the goal was to classify initiatives and actions in each AE principle as defined by Wezel *et al.* (2020). A list of initiatives and actions considered as AE was compiled based on the diagnosis and action plan. These initiatives and actions were pre-listed as AE because they referred to the 13 AE principles and were relevant to their definitions (Wezel *et al.* 2020). During this phase, initiatives and actions referring to water-related AE practices were also checked and classified under the 13 AE principles. Then, interview data were used to supplement and confirm available information in order to help in the classification of initiatives and actions. During the data analysis, 25 initiatives and 15 actions were defined as AE, as they referred to one or more of the 13 AE principles. However, the interviews covered 16 initiatives and 11 actions (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15 and 16). Types of questions on initiatives and actions were chosen when information on the said initiative or action was missing or not very detailed. The decision not to inquire about all the initiatives and actions during the interviews was based on time constraints, and they were considered unworthy of further study since they had a very clear explanation or because similar aspects were already asked in other questions.

Based on definitions of AE principles, each initiative or action was attributed to one or multiple AE principles. For example, the action referring to the rehabilitation of Domaine des Rugates (action 4) relates to several AE principles: recycling, input reduction, soil and animal health, biodiversity, synergy, and land and natural resource governance. This action aims to re-establish connections between animals and the agroecosystems, while enhancing
biodiversity and improving management of natural resources. Justifications for classifying initiatives and actions are detailed in Appendix 4 and Appendix 5.

Later, the number of initiatives and actions per AE principle was summed to create a radar diagram, which helps represent the AE potential of the Carcassonne agglomeration TFP. For both the diagnosis and the action plan, summary illustrations gather initiatives and actions into a single visual.

## 3.5 EVALUATION OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF TFP TO AGROECOLOGICAL TRANSITION

To evaluate the contribution of the Carcassonne agglomeration's TFP to the AE transition, the process followed two steps:

1. Assigning a score to each initiative and each action based on its advancement level (AL) and agroecological level (AEL);

2. Aggregating the scores to calculate a final score per principle.

### 3.5.1 Advancement and agroecological levels of initiatives and actions

The first step in assessing AE transition is to define a scoring method for each initiative and action in line with AE principles. For this phase, initiatives and actions are renamed as elements. Agroecology Europe (Peeters et al. 2021) and the FAO (FAO 2019) developed two different methodologies to evaluate the AE transition. For both methods, AE scoring is applied to composing principles. However, none of the existing methods includes the advancement level of the elements. The Carcassonne agglomeration TFP has developed numerous initiatives/actions with the support of various FS stakeholders. For this reason, it was necessary to determine whether collaboration occurred between the different stakeholders, and whether the initiatives/actions had been developed or remained in the planning stage. Consequently, an advancement level (AL) score was created to assess the degree of involvement and satisfaction of concerned stakeholders. The evaluation of the TFP's contribution to the AE transition considered both the advancement level (AL) and the agroecological level (AEL).

The advancement level (AL) was defined by the degree of implementation of the considered element and the degree of partner implications. It was scored from 1 to 4:
□ 1: Element only at the idea stage;

□ 2: Element initiated by a lead team and some partners identified;

□ 3: Element established but not yet fully satisfying for all concerned stakeholders;

□ 4: Element fully implemented and satisfying for concerned stakeholders.

Satisfaction criteria include:

□ Number and quality of partnerships.

□ Stakeholder motivation and effort to obtain benefits (financial, land, resource-related, etc.),

□ Organization (quality of communication, efficiency, use of time and resources),

□ Food security (affordability, availability, accessibility),

□ Producer satisfaction with production sustainability and relationships with consumers (including knowledge transfer on production processes and products).

The agroecological level (AEL) was evaluated using a scoring grid developed by the research team. Like the AL, it was scored from 1 to 4. A description of this scoring and results is provided in Appendix 6.

Summing the scores of AL and AEL for each initiative and action produces a score ranging from 1 (0 in case any element i was present) to 8 for each initiative and action.

The second step aims to get a score $W_j(d/a)$<fnref n="3" /> that reflects the relative importance of each AE principle. j in either the diagnosis (d) or the action plan (a):

$$W_j(d/a) = \left( \frac{1}{n(d/a),j} \right) \sum_i [ AL_{i,j}(d/a) + AEL_{i,j}(d/a) ] \quad (1)$$

where $AL_{i,j(d/a)}$ is the advancement level (AL) score assigned to element i for the AE principle j, $AEL_{i,j(d/a)}$ is the agroecological level (AEL) score assigned to element i for the AE principle j, and $N_{(d/a),j}$ indicates the total number of elements considered in the AE principle j, within the selected document.

<footnote n="3">³ d: refers to the diagnosis report, a: refers to the action plan.</footnote>
The minimum score for a given AE principle *j* could range from 1 (0 in case any *i* was present) to 8. Finally, the scores of all principles were summed, considering both diagnosis and action plan, to obtain an overall AE score *W* for a global contribution of the TFP to AE transition:

$$W = \sum_j W_{j,d/a} \qquad (2)$$
# 4 RESULTS

## 4.1 CARCASSONNE AGGLOMERATION FOOD SYSTEM SCHEME

As illustrated by the FS scheme (a detailed explanation on the figure and its functioning is given in Appendix 3), vineyards represent the primary agricultural production with 20.000 ha (Carcassonne Agglo 2022) (Figure 3). However, vineyard producers are aware that wine is not as profitable as it used to be. For this reason, some orchards and olive trees are being introduced in vineyard areas, to diversify the economy (Région Occitanie 2023; NECTAR, n.d.). Grassland surfaces, which can refer to the livestock feeding, cover 10.000 ha and are partly used by extensive grazing herds of goats and sheep, mainly located in the northern Minervois and Val-de-Dagne. Additionally, there are differences in cropping systems between the western and eastern parts of the Carcassonne agglomeration. The western part is dedicated to cereals and protein-oil crops such as rapeseed and sunflower. The eastern area mostly features truffles, orchards, and olive trees cultivation, sometimes intercropped with vineyards. Another important aspect is that the vegetable production of the agglomeration is not sufficient to satisfy the demand, as only a small amount of this food is produced (interview 1). This leads to importing vegetables from outside the agglomeration. Lastly, the territory is recognised to have a small number of livestock units of goats and sheep. Nevertheless, the TFP is interested in increasing the amount of extensive herds since this would support the development of open spaces and reduce the risk of wildfires, as the area is prone to fire (SagiTerres 2024).
<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>Figure 3 Cultivated crops in the Carcassonne agglomeration showing that vineyards (pink) are the main agricultural production in the east, whilst cereals for food production (yellow) are the most prevalent crop in the west (Géoservices 2021).</figcaption></figure>

Referring to the food transformation and distribution, stakeholders are presented in Figure 4. Figure 4a relates to crops, while Figure 4b refers to animal produce. Shown in Figure 4a, cultivated arable crops, fruits, vegetables and other crops, as well as dairy and meat products (Figure 4b) produced in the agglomeration, are processed through both short or long food chains (Carcassonne Agglo 2022). Arable crops are generally processed in long food chains through cooperatives, such as *Arterris*<fnref n="4" /> and *Graines Equitables*<fnref n="5" />. Nevertheless, some cereals are also transformed by a local farmer association called *Flor de Peira*<fnref n="6" />. Fruits are partly transformed within the agglomeration, while the majority is worked by the *Arterris*.

<footnote n="4">⁴ *Arterris* is a food cooperative based in the South of France, which is transforming and sending food products through all France (Carcassonne Agglo 2022).</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ *Graines Equitables* is a food cooperative based in the Carcassonne agglomeration, producing organic cereals and legumes and working both in the small and large food supply chains.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ *Flor de Peira* is an association of producers of organic and local flours from the Occitanie region (Carcassonne Agglo 2022).</footnote>
Nevertheless, in one case- the village of Castans, a municipality within the Carcassonne agglomeration- it was possible to identify a space to transform chestnuts produced locally. This has allowed for the development of a short food chain. Regarding vegetables, 19 producers are directly processing their vegetables, using small food laboratories located in the Carcassonne agglomeration. However, the rest undergo a long food supply chain, mainly through *Arterris* and *Graines Equitables*. Other products, such as olive oils, are transformed either on the farm or by a local cooperative within the agglomeration perimeter. According to Figure 4b, in terms of animal produce, some slaughterhouses are present at the agglomeration and departmental levels. Some products, such as sheep and goat milk, lamb and poultry meats, are sold under the *Pays Cathare* label<fnref n="7" /> and other quality certifications (PDO, PGI, HEV). These examples help to develop a short food supply chain. However, some animals go through a long food chain where *Terre Ovine* and *Arterris* cooperatives are involved, and the animals are exported to Italy or Spain.

Regarding distribution and selling processes, vegetables and fruits are often sold to open food markets in 17 villages of the Carcassonne agglomeration. They are mainly attended by older and wealthier families. A key aspect of the agglomeration is the presence of short food chains (*circuits de proximité*), which provide organic products mainly in the town of Carcassonne. Nevertheless, these initiatives have faced some obstacles, particularly in light of the post-COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, which have decreased organic food consumption. Overall, most of the food shops are concentrated in Carcassonne, leading the population to do most of their grocery shopping there<fnref n="8" />.

<footnote n="7">⁷ *Pays Cathare* label is a departmental certification which aims to support the local food production and consumption, and traditional food knowledge. It is used producers and sellers need to be from the Aude department.</footnote>

<footnote n="8">⁸ There are 230 fast food (*restauration rapide*) shops, 118 bakery and pastry shops, 56 butcheries, 24 fruit and vegetable shops, and 11 fish shops (Carcassonne Agglo 2022).</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_6.png" /></figure>

Figure 4 Description of the crops (a), dairy and meat processing (b) in the Carcassonne agglomeration.
In orange the food industry and cooperatives that are in charge of food processing through a long food supply chain.
In green the local realities that are processing food through a short food chain (Carcassonne Agglo 2022).

Referring to food consumption, it is relevant to consider that there was a lack of data available regarding food consumption. However, a local agricultural institution based in the area conducted a study on wheat, legumes, and certain fruits (apples, peaches and pears), tomatoes and meat produced at the departmental level. The findings of this study demonstrate the potential for apple, peach, cereal, potato, tomato and meat production to meet the dietary requirements of the population (Chambre d'Agriculture Aude 2024). However, legume production would not be sufficient for the population. This information should be taken into account, as it pertains to the departmental level rather than the agglomeration level, which was the focal point of the thesis. Second, around 4 million meals
are served in the Carcassonne agglomeration during the year in school canteens, hospitals and in canteens of private companies (administrative and business restaurants). Specifically, for this aspect, the TFP is willing to support the objective of the *Egalim* law<fnref n="9" /> in increasing the amount of organic and certified products consumed in canteens. Finally, it should be noted that the agglomeration has 21% of its population living under the poverty threshold. To support the most vulnerable population, a food bank in the study area redistributes some food and organises cooking workshops. These activities permit better access to food for the most vulnerable people.

Concerning food waste management, it was not possible to obtain quantitative data. The only available data referred to food that was reused with the support of the food bank, with the aim of reusing between 200 and 400 kg of food for the period of 2024-2030 (Carcassonne Agglo 2024).

Overall, this FS is impacted by environmental factors, such as droughts, heatwaves and water scarcity, which are becoming more frequent in summer and hurt food production (Figure 5). The social environment also affects the area, with 20% of the population living under the poverty threshold. For this reason, the presence of local associations such as food banks represents a support to secure food security in the Carcassonne agglomeration.

<footnote n="9">⁹ The *Egalim* law has the objective to offer 50% of quality certified products and 20% of organic food in canteens.</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>Figure 5 Food system of the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration.</figcaption></figure>

The main phases of the FS, from the food production to the food waste management are presented according to a presentation adapted from Dario Perez (pers. Comm.) and applied to the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration using the information collected in the present study.
## 4.2 AGROECOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OF THE CARCASSONNE AGGLOMERATION TFP

The diagnosis report and the action plan covered all the 13 AE principles (HLPE 2019) (Figure 6). Initiatives reported in the diagnosis report refer primarily to biodiversity, economic diversification, and connectivity principles. Meanwhile, the action plan focused on three other principles: social values and diets, land and natural resource governance, and participation, which are barely addressed in the diagnosis document.

Analysis of the diagnosis and action plan of the TFP reveals that relatively few initiatives or actions have been developed for recycling, input reduction, synergy, co-creation of knowledge, and fairness principles. Additionally, despite only a few explicit initiatives or actions referring to soil and animal health in the two documents analysed, there is a strong interest in increasing grazing areas within the agglomeration, as reported during interviews (interview 1 and 3) (SagiTerres 2024). This is intended to both reduce the risk of wildfires and enhance animal welfare. Overall, it appears that the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration addresses both the agroecosystem and FS dimensions through its initiatives and actions. However, a greater number of initiatives or actions were present at the FS level.
<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>Figure 6 Number of initiatives and actions for each of the AE principles. Scale from 1 to 8 indicates numbers of initiatives and actions reported in the diagnosis and action plan (Carcassonne Agglo 2022; 2024).</figcaption></figure>

## 4.3 AGROECOLOGICAL INITIATIVES AND ACTIONS AND REFERENCES TO WATER

### 4.3.1 Diagnosis report

A total of 25 initiatives were reported in the diagnosis report. However, as some initiatives addressed multiple AE principles, the overall number rose to 42 actions (Figure 7). The principles of economic diversification, connectivity, and biodiversity recorded the highest number of initiatives, with 8, 7 and 5, respectively. In contrast, the AE principles with the fewest initiatives (1 to 2) were animal health, synergy, co-creation of knowledge, social values and diets, land and natural resource governance, and participation. The remaining AE principles – recycling, input reduction, soil health and fairness - were each addressed by three initiatives.
Many initiatives referred to the **biodiversity principle**; for instance, it was observed that some farmers are willing to diversify their production by cultivating multiple crops in the same space or at the same time. This also allows them to diversify their incomes (**economic diversification principle**). Moreover, the TFP has reported different strategies that farmers have employed to reduce their dependency on one main agricultural production. These strategies encompass the utilisation of food appellations, which can enhance income for farmers, also covering the **economic diversification principle**. Furthermore, numerous initiatives referred to the **connectivity principle**. The reported initiatives aim to facilitate the establishment of connections between farmers themselves in order to develop a territorial food supply chain, as well as between farmers and consumers. As indicated in the diagnosis report, a key finding was that producers were able to establish connections with consumers through solidarity purchasing groups, short food chains, farmers' markets and vegetable and fruit fairs. Furthermore, some farmers have also established connections between themselves to facilitate the direct transformation of food within the agglomeration. This can allow consumers to have access to local food and to know how the food was produced.
<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>Figure 7 Initiatives from the diagnosis report categorised in the 13 AE principles.</figcaption></figure>

This figure illustrates how the reported initiatives align with the 13 AE principles. The square in blue represents the initiatives that concern water (Carcassonne Agglo 2022).
4.3.2 Action plan

The action plan of the TFP for the Carcassonne agglomeration is composed of 15 actions, structured into 3 axes that allow for the clear categorisation of the different actions according to the 13 AE principles (Figure 8). As some of these actions address multiple AE principles simultaneously, the total number increased to 41 actions. As with the diagnosis report, all 13 AE principles were covered. The AE principles with the highest number of associated actions were: biodiversity (4 actions), social values and diets (6 actions), land and natural resource governance (8 actions), and participation (6 actions). Recycling, animal health, synergy, economic diversification, co-creation of knowledge, fairness, and connectivity had between 1 to 2 actions each. Finally, 3 actions referred to the input reduction and soil health principles, respectively.

Different actions are connected to the **biodiversity principle**. For example, the TFP aimed to revitalise the abandoned Domaine des Rougeats area (action 4). The goal is to establish a diversified agricultural system. The site covers 150 ha, of which 60-65 ha will be dedicated to growing cereals and vegetables, with a selection of specific varieties to be proposed by the *Graines Equitables* cooperative. This action supports both species agrobiodiversity and food production in the area. Another action aims to encourage and support farmers' agricultural diversification (action 5). Initially, this action also supported the development of short food chains. However, it has been reoriented to better address the local area's needs. It is now focused on the organisation of technical forums to train farmers in agricultural diversification. These forums are organised with the support of local agricultural institutions<fnref n="10" />. This will help promote biodiversity, although the farmers involved are mainly vineyard producers whose primary motivation is to increase income rather than agrobiodiversity. Moreover, the TFP has developed an agro-environmental and climate project in Natura 2000 (action 15) zones of the Carcassonne agglomeration to enhance agroecosystem biodiversity. The zones are primarily intended for grazing and aim to improve plant species biodiversity. Finally, in light of the impact of climate change on the territory, the

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ The local agricultural institutions that are involved in this action are Biocivam and Chamber of Agriculture.</footnote>
agglomeration, in partnership with the TFP, has also chosen to develop a green plan (action
16). This includes the creation of dedicated green areas within the region to increase the
diversity of plant species in the agglomeration.

With regard to the social values and diets principle, the TFP is supporting an action led
by the *Graines Equitables* cooperative. This aims to increase the availability of organic and
quality-assured food in canteens, allowing consumers access to healthier and more
sustainable diets (action 6). In addition, the TFP is working with a local agricultural institution<fnref n="11" />
to facilitate communication between food catering and farmers (action 7). As already
mentioned in the diagnosis report, this action also contributes to increasing the presence of
organic and certified quality-assured products in school canteens to meet the requirements
of the *Egalim* law (Law n° 938 2018). Even though municipalities have a limited budget to
dedicate to the food catering services, the TFP and FS stakeholders involved aim to maintain
this action to provide healthier food for those who use the canteens. Additionally, the TFP
developed food aids for vulnerable people (action 8) and food vouchers to enable young
people (action 9), who face economic and social difficulties, to access local food produced by
farmers of the agglomeration and the Aude department. Furthermore, the TFP recognises the
urgency of developing food education activities. For this reason, a specific action has been
developed to organise cooking workshops for children and parents (action 11). This will
improve social values and diets as the workshops and recipes aim to promote local and
seasonal recipes. Finally, in line with this principle, the TFP is also developing an action to raise
awareness in the local community about the FS actions undertaken by the TFP. This will help
to sensitise citizens to the importance of their daily diets and eating habits (action 10).

In the context of land and natural resource governance, the TFP has set up an
agricultural test area (action 2). This allows the development of agricultural projects and
improves the reliability of agriculture for those pursuing a farming career, while also ensuring
sustainable use of natural resources, such as soil. Moreover, the TFP supports a platform to
inform farmers when land becomes available for acquisition (action 3). It also aids the *Graines
Equitables* cooperative in developing a local agricultural food chain, while remaining mindful
of natural resource management (action 6). As mentioned under the biodiversity principle,

<footnote n="11">¹¹ The local agricultural institution involved in the action is the Chamber of Agriculture.</footnote>
the TFP has specific attention to the development of a green plan (action 16) and agro-environmental measures in Natura 2000 areas (action 15). These actions also relate to the land and natural resource governance AE principle, as they aim to improve the management of natural resources across the agglomeration. Additionally, the revitalisation of Domaine de Rougeats aims to improve water use for agricultural purposes (action 4). The TFP is also promoting the introduction of two water tanks - one for combating wildfires (200 m³), and another for irrigation of cereals and legumes (600 m³). Another action connected to this principle concerns the water scheme (action 14), for which the Carcassonne agglomeration is the lead organisation. It focuses on analysing the availability of water resources, including surface and underground water, and on assessing the water infrastructure. Finally, an action that addresses both land and natural resource governance and the participation principle is the creation of a collective dynamic to facilitate the setting up of farms in the area for more efficient and sustainable resource management (action 1).

The **participation principle** refers to various actions that have already been mentioned in the land and natural resource governance and social values and diets principle. These include efforts to engage citizens in discussion on the TFP's challenges (action 10) and in cooking workshops for adults and children (action 11). This action supports education around organic and healthy food consumption. Moreover, the TFP supports an action connected to local agricultural events, where participation from diverse stakeholders- from farmers to consumers- has been encouraged and maintained (action 13).

Certain actions encompass multiple AE principles. A notable example is the revitalisation of Domaine des Rougeats (action 4), which aims to establish a complex agroecosystem. This includes introducing grazing zones to improve animal and soil health, enhance the synergies and reduce reliance on external inputs, as only local resources will be used for production. The action also includes the development of a test farm, managed by a shepherd, to raise both animals and agricultural crops. This test farm will allow nutrient recycling and reduced inputs' use. For instance, legume cultivation on grazing areas can help fix nitrogen in the soil, thus decreasing external fertiliser needs.

Additionally, through the action that envisages supporting a diversified agricultural system (action 5) within the agglomeration, farmers can reduce the external inputs, as
different crops can fulfil each other's needs, if managed correctly. This will also allow diversifying farmers' economy. Furthermore, through the presence of technical forums, farmers can participate in meetings and discuss between peers and local agricultural institutions. This will allow co-creating new knowledge and developing connections between farmers and technical authorities, leading to the coverage of the connectivity principle.

Actions such as developing agro-environmental and climate measures (action 15) and drawing a green plan (action 16) can help improve soil health. The green plan aims to support a more resilient agglomeration in the face of climate change with the introduction of trees, while also renaturalising more urbanised areas. While, through the agro-environmental and climate measure plan, the objective is to improve the soil health of the Natura 2000 areas that are often grazed by animals. This action also refers to the synergy principle, as new connections can be developed or reinforced between the grazing animals and the grassland diversification, allowing for positive interactions within the agroecosystem.

Furthermore, actions such as supporting local agricultural events (action 13) promote fairness by supporting economic diversification and enabling producers to negotiate fairer prices for their produce.

Finally, the action supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality and organic food (action 7) aims to connect food caterings and farmers located in the Carcassonne agglomeration. This enables to co-develop of knowledge on food production and consumption and establishes connections between different FS stakeholders (food caterings and farmers), potentially allowing farmers to receive a fairer price than they would from the long food chain, which currently pays very little for their produce.
<figure><img src="image_10.png" /><figcaption>Figure 8 Actions from the action plan categorised in the 13 AE principles.</figcaption></figure>

This figure illustrates the classification of the actions according to the 13 AE principles. The number shown next to each action refers to its corresponding number in the action plan of the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration (Carcassonne Agglo 2024).
#### 4.3.3 Reference to water in the diagnosis and action plan

Only a few water-related actions were identified in the diagnosis report and action plan. Out of the 25 initiatives in the diagnosis report, only two (8%) referred to water. Similarly, only two of the 15 actions (13%) in the action plan focused on water.

Specifically, the diagnosis document focused on improving water quality (Carcassonne Agglo 2022). These referred to agro-environmental measures developed by a local organisation<fnref n="12" /> in collaboration with farmers in the area. The aim was to reduce the presence of phytosanitary products in fields and prevent their leaching into rivers and subsequent water pollution. This has led to a short-term improvement in water quality. Nevertheless, to sustain and enhance water quality, the TFP emphasised that local agricultural organisations should also be involved in similar initiatives. They can forge stronger relationships with farmers and promote similar practices. Farmers are more likely to participate when they receive adequate economic support. Another initiative was the implementation of water catchments in polluted zones to monitor water quality, thereby improving water resource management. These initiatives relate specifically to land and natural resource governance, with potential for establishing a territorial governance framework that can effectively monitor water quality.

In its action plan, the TFP developed two actions relating to water quantity. These included the water scheme (action 14) and rehabilitation of the Domaines de Rougeats area (action 4). The water scheme enabled the implementation of water reservoirs for irrigation, wildfire prevention, and animal drinking water. The Carcassonne agglomeration has already carried out an analysis of the available water resources, both referring to surface and underground waters, as well as existing water infrastructure. Furthermore, it has already included an estimation of the future water needs in the different sectors (including the agricultural sector), an analysis of available water resources and a reflection on agricultural adaptation in the face of climate change. Two distinct areas have been designated for establishing water reservoirs<fnref n="13" />: the North Minervois and the Val-de-Dagne. These areas were

<footnote n="12">¹² The local organisation is Biocivam.</footnote>

<footnote n="13">¹³ The water reservoirs will store water from both rainwater and streams.</footnote>
identified as being the most vulnerable to water scarcity, as they are distant from the Aude
River and therefore have reduced water accessibility. Three water reservoirs will be developed
in Pradelles-en-Val, Aigues-Vives and Montlaur. Pradelles-en-Val will stock 80.000 m³ of water,
Montlaur 150.000 m³ and Aigues-Vives 300.000 m³. Through water storage, farmers can have
easier access to water, reducing their reliance on the Aude River. The areas that can benefit
from this scheme cover from 75 to 300 ha of mainly vineyard crops. This example
demonstrates how the management of land and natural resources can be improved and
support a territorial governance involving local stakeholders. Meanwhile, the rehabilitation of
the Domaine de Rougeats facilitates irrigation of 60 hectares of cereals and legumes, helping
reduce reliance on rainfall and generating multiple synergies within the agroecosystem.
Improved water availability supports crop growth during dry periods and ensures a stable food
source for grazing animals. In turn, grazing animals contribute to soil fertility, helping close the
nutrient cycle. Furthermore, the presence of reservoirs builds resilience against wildfires,
providing water for fire suppression, safeguarding both agricultural and natural areas. The
interconnectedness of water, crops, and animals enables the creation of a multifunctional
agroecosystem, where each element strengthens the others. This action also relates to the
land and natural resource governance, as it supports the development of better water
management within a territorial governance framework.

4.4 CONTRIBUTION TO THE AE TRANSITION

The results presented below show the advancement level (AL) and the agroecological
level (AEL) for each element included in the 13 AE principles- first for the diagnosis report, and
then for the action plan. A comparison was then made between the scores from both
documents to highlight similarities and differences. The final section focuses on the
significance of water-related elements.

4.4.1 Diagnosis report

Figure 9 shows the AL and AEL scores of the 42 elements of the diagnosis report, grouped by the 13 AE principles. In total, 41 out of 42 elements have a medium-to-high AL
(equivalent to 3 or 4), indicating that the TFP has already reported a high level of stakeholder involvement in the development of these elements. Only one element had a low AL (equivalent to 2). This element refers to the expected increase of organic and quality-certified products in food catering services to respect the *Egalim* law. This score can be attributed to the fact that, although the element has been introduced, it takes time to engage with various FS stakeholders. Similarly, 40 out of 42 elements have a medium-to-high AEL (equivalent to 3 or 4), which can be attributed to the positive effects reported by the developed elements at the agroecosystem or FS level. For instance, elements relating to the agroecosystem dimension were referring to closing the nutrient cycle, reducing the external inputs, establishing synergies, and increasing species biodiversity. At the FS level, elements developed are based on preserving natural resources and establishing connections. Nevertheless, two elements had a low AEL (equivalent to 2), as they refer to establishing only a plan to support a greater presence of AE practices at the agroecosystem or FS level. These elements concerned the cultivation of cover crops in collaboration with the Agricultural High School located in Carcassonne, as well as the introduction of orchard trees such as almonds, pistachios, and pomegranates. Cover crops cultivation was categorised under the biodiversity principle; the low score received is because these crops should be part of a more complex system of crop diversification in the territory, rather than being a unique case that was not then replicated. While the introduction of orchard trees has a low AE score, this is because the plan has only just started to be developed, and it will take time to evaluate its positive effect on farmer economic diversification.

Overall, 39 out of 42 elements had a medium-to-high AL (equivalent to 3 or 4) and a medium-to-high AE level (equivalent to 3 or 4). This suggests that the TFP successfully included a high level of stakeholders' participation in the elements, and their participation positively impacts the AE dimension and supports a territorial AE transition. Two elements, cultivation of cover crops and introduction of orchard trees, had a higher AL (equivalent to 3) than the AEL (equivalent to 2). This can be explained by the fact that only an AE plan has been established, resulting in a low AE score. Finally, one element, referring to the introduction of more organic and quality-based products in food catering, had a low AL (equivalent to 2) and a higher AEL (equivalent to 3), as the element needs time to develop a strong partnership
between different stakeholders. Nevertheless, it has a higher AE note as it aims to promote healthier diets through increased consumption of organic and quality-based products.

<figure><img src="image_11.png" /></figure>

Figure 9 Level of agroecologisation of the diagnosis report of the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration. The x-axis shows all the 42 elements divided into the 13 AE principles, while the y-axis reports the sum of the AL score (in blue) and AEL score (in orange). The AE score ranges from 1 to 8 (Wezel et al. 2020; Carcassonne Agglo 2022) (interview 1).
4.4.2 Action plan

Figure 10 shows the 41 elements of the action plan categorised under the 13 AE principles. In total, 33 out of 41 elements had a medium-to-high advancement level (AL) (equivalent to 3 or 4), indicating that the TFP has already reported a high level of stakeholder involvement in the various aspects developed. Only eight elements had a low AL (equivalent to 2). These correspond to actions 1, 2, 3, 5 and 9¹⁴. This is because the elements have been established, but it requires time to work with the different stakeholders of the FS. Similarly, 34 out of 41 elements have a medium to high AEL (equivalent to 3 or 4), and the elements reported positive effects at the agroecosystem or FS level. For instance, elements referring to the agroecosystem dimension were able to close the nutrient cycle, reduce the external inputs, improve soil and animal health, establish synergies, and increase the species biodiversity. At the FS level, elements developed are based on preserving natural resources and establishing connections between the various stakeholders. Nevertheless, seven elements (actions 5, 7, 8, 16)<fnref n="15" /> had a low AEL (equivalent to 2), as the elements developed are referring to establishing only a few interactions to support a higher presence of AE practices at the agroecosystem or FS level.

Overall, the majority of elements, 27 out of 41, had a medium-to-high AL (equivalent to 3 or 4) and a medium-to-high AE level (equivalent to 3 or 4). This suggested that the TFP successfully included a high participation of various stakeholders in the elements and positively impacted the AE dimension, supporting a territorial AE transition. Six elements had a higher AL (actions 7, 8, 10, and 16)<fnref n="16" /> (equivalent to 3) than the AEL (equivalent to 2). This can be justified by the high participation of different stakeholders involved in the element, but from an AE perspective, only a plan is currently in place, leading to a low AE note. Seven elements (actions 1, 2, 3, 5 and 9) had a lower AL (equivalent to 2) and a higher AEL (equivalent to 3), as the elements need time to develop a strong partnership between the different stakeholders, but they have a higher AE note as they aim to increase the biodiversity and improve land and natural resources. Finally, one element (action 5) had both a low AL

<footnote n="14">¹⁴ There are height elements as the action 5 repeats in four AE principles, leading to a total of eight elements.</footnote>

<footnote n="15">¹⁵ There are six elements as the action 16 repeats in three AE principles, leading to a total of six elements.</footnote>

<footnote n="16">¹⁶ There are six elements as the action 16 repeats in three AE principles, leading to a total of six elements.</footnote>
(equivalent to 2) and a low AEL (equivalent to 2), as a strong stakeholder partnership is not present at the moment, and from an AE point of view, only a plan has been developed.

<figure><img src="image_12.png" /></figure>

Figure 10 Level of agroecologisation of the action plan of the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration. The x-axis shows all the 41 elements divided into the 13 AE principles, while the y-axis reports the sum of the AL score (in blue) and AEL score (in orange). The AE score ranges from 1 to 8 (Wezel et al. 2020; Carcassonne Agglo 2024) (interviews 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8).

#### 4.4.3 Synthesis of AE evaluation

Overall, both the diagnosis and the action plan received a medium-to-high AE score (Figure 11a). From the diagnosis report, the TFP was assessed with an AE score of 84 out of 104. Since the action plan began in 2024 and some actions have been developed, its AE score was slightly lower compared to the diagnosis report, reaching a score of 78 out of 104. The diagnosis report reported a higher AE score for synergy, economic diversification, co-creation of knowledge, social values and diets, connectivity and participation compared to the action plan. In contrast, the action plan reported a higher AE score for the recycling principle. For the rest of the 13 AE principles, the diagnosis and action plan have similar AE scores. The medium-to-high scores obtained by both the diagnosis and the action plan could lead to the conclusion that the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration could be classified at the 4th level, according to the Gliessman classification (Gliessman 2006). This is justified by the fact that the TFP has implemented actions to improve the agroecosystem diversification and support the
development of an alternative FS. The results obtained demonstrate that despite the TFP of
the Carcassonne agglomeration not often clearly referring to agroecology and AE transition in
its diagnosis and action plan, it appears that many elements implemented before the
establishment and during the action plan of the TFP were related to AE agroecology.

4.4.4 Synthesis for water-related initiatives and actions

In the diagnosis report (Figure 11b), all the water-related initiatives referred to the land and natural resource governance principle and fully account for the total score of 6 attributed to this principle. In the action plan, water-related actions concerned the synergy and the land and natural resource governance principles. Regarding the synergy principle, the single water-related element received a score of 3 out of 6, and under land and natural resource governance, the two elements referring to water received a score of 1.7 out of 5.85.

Although only a few elements of the diagnosis and action plan refer to water, they were able
to engage a variety of stakeholders, resulting in medium-to-high AL. Additionally, they were
able to establish a territorial governance improving natural resources and supporting an AE
transition. Notably, only a few actions have explicitly focused on water, but it appears to be
connected with agroecology. This suggests that the TFP is taking steps in this direction,
considering water management as a way to enhance the resilience of the FS.
<figure><img src="image_13.png" /><figcaption>(b)</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_14.png" /><figcaption>Figure 11 AE score and water.</figcaption></figure>

The figure 11a shows the final AE score per principle. It is based on the diagnosis and action plan, including water-related initiatives and actions. The figure 11b shows the final AE score per principle, with the weight of elements that refer specifically to water (Carcassonne Agglo 2022; 2024).
# 5 DISCUSSION

## 5.1 CARCASSONNE AGGLOMERATION FOOD SYSTEM

Although much of the quantitative data on the FS scheme is missing, it is evident that vineyard monocultures limit territorial food production, leading to importing some food, such as vegetables, from areas outside the agglomeration. Nevertheless, certain actions, such as the rehabilitation of the Domaine des Rougeats, demonstrate the territory's commitment to producing some local food and restoring connections between animals and agricultural diversification. A key asset of this TFP is also the collaboration that has been developed among farmers who engage in developing a food processing space in the agglomeration, supporting the establishment of short food supply chains. These efforts contributed to economic diversification but also to fostering the relationship with consumers, who are informed about where the food they consume is produced. However, the absence of comprehensive data on food transformation, consumption patterns, and food waste management hinders the evaluation of the FS as a whole. For this reason, stronger collaboration with local food waste authorities could be established in the future to find out more about food waste and the amount of food that is recycled. This could contribute to enriching TFP knowledge and identifying potential improvements to the recycling process.

## 5.2 AE TRANSITION OF THE TFP OF THE CARCASSONNE AGGLOMERATION

### 5.2.1 AE initiatives and actions and AE score

When comparing the number of initiatives and actions linked to the 13 AE principles and their corresponding AE score obtained for each, it becomes evident that a greater number of initiatives does not necessarily lead to higher AE scores. For instance, a few initiatives have been reported for recycling, reducing inputs, improving soil and animal health, co-creating knowledge and fairness. However, they received a score close to 6 or higher, indicating that they have both a medium-to-high (equivalent to 3 or 4) AL and the AEL. Meanwhile, the biodiversity principle reported many initiatives (5 initiatives) and actions (4 actions), its AL or AEL has sometimes got a low score (equivalent to 2). For instance, in some cases, stakeholders' participation was limited, or from an AE perspective, only a plan had been developed.
Similarly, several actions were reported for social values and diets and land and natural resource governance, but sometimes their AL or AEL scores were quite low (equal to 2). This is because either more stakeholders need to be involved, or because, from an AE perspective, the actions have the potential to support an AE transition, but only a plan has been established.

### 5.2.2 AE transition

The TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration does not explicitly frame its initiatives and actions within the concept of agroecology; however, analysing them, many align with the 13 AE principles defined by Wezel et al. (2020). This suggests that the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration is a meaningful example of a FS engaged in the AE transition (Lagacherie et al. 2018; Aguilera et al. 2020). The TFP appears to be highly active in developing a territorial FS. Specifically, since its early stage, the TFP has fostered strong participation with citizens, farmers, and local agricultural institutions. However, both the documents and the interviews emphasised some barriers, which slow down the TFP's efforts to develop a more AE FS. Specifically, difficulties occurred in convincing vineyard farmers to develop a more diversified agroecosystem. These barriers are due to vineyards' monocultures and farmers' reluctance to diversify their production without a positive economic incentive. Nevertheless, the territory has already started to develop initiatives for establishing a partnership with farmers on agro-environmental measures that reduce the use of phytosanitary products in order to improve water quality. Additionally, to support a more diversified FS that relies less on external resources, the TFP's action plan has built upon the initiative identified in the diagnosis phase: a partnership with various stakeholders to support agricultural diversification, including agroforestry plantations, which may help reduce water consumption (Lin et al. 2018; Région Occitanie 2023).

### 5.2.3 Water and AE transition

The diagnosis report has initiatives that refer to water quality, while the action plan developed actions to preserve water from a quantitative point of view (Carcassonne Agglo 2022; 2024). This leads to observing the complementarity of the diagnosis and action plan in developing initiatives and actions that refer to water, both from a qualitative and quantitative point of view. Even though a few initiatives and actions concern water, they received a
medium-to-high AE score. These include different stakeholders of the FS, such as local agricultural organisations and farmers, to develop a water scheme in the area. For instance, the water scheme action aims to introduce water reservoirs in different areas of the agglomeration, allow for water storage and use it for farming activities, as well as for wildfire episodes. However, as shown in the article of Aguilera *et al.* (2020), some other water conservation techniques exist in the Mediterranean basin, such as terracing and pozas, a water technique that allows conserving water on the slope (Ballais *et al.* 2013). Furthermore, agroforestry plantations are another example of AE practice, which has been shown to reduce the amount of water consumed by plants (Lin *et al.* 2018). In territories such as the Carcassonne agglomeration, where a decrease in water availability is expected, these practices represent a key asset. Additionally, the above-mentioned techniques and practices allow for the preservation and better water management of natural resources at limited financial costs (Aguilera *et al.* 2020). The examples could be introduced through a partnership of the TFP, farmers and local agricultural institutions while also supporting the AE transition. The stakeholders involved in the TFP are aware of the importance of developing actions to preserve water resources, both from quantitative and qualitative perspectives. They acknowledge the relationship between the necessity to preserve this resource and the introduction of crops that could require less water. However, they are also aware that economic constraints prevent farmers from changing their agricultural practices, for example, to introduce agroforestry or adopt drought-resistant crops. These new practices could demand less water, but farmers sometimes do not perceive them as economically profitable if markets for selling these products are not established. Finally, the TFP of Carcassonne agglomeration, together with those of the Tarn-Agout, Sicoval and Vidourle Camargue (all of which are located in the Occitanie region), is one of the few to have established activities with farmers to support agricultural practices, such as introducing drought-resistant crops that could require less water<fnref n="17" />. This leads to think that this TFP has some attention to water and AE practices and transition.

<footnote n="17">¹⁷ Of the 64 TFPs, only the TFPs of Carcassonne, Agout, Sicoval and Vidourle Camargue have included agricultural practices aimed at reducing water consumption in their action plan reports, to adapt to the expected decrease in water availability in the Occitan region.</footnote>
## 5.3 ABOUT THE APPROACH

The data were collected from the diagnosis report and action plan of the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration. For the diagnosis report, we selected the initiatives that referred to the 13 AE principles, as the TFP was presented in a descriptive style, which could lead to interpretation bias. In contrast, the action plan included an action sheet for each action, reducing the interpretation bias and facilitating the actions' classification in the 13 AE principles.

The interviews enabled the enrichment of the case study and the collection of further information on the initiatives and actions reported under the 13 AE principles. Concerning the interviews' data collection, the selection of the interviewees was based on purposive sampling. This method enabled to meet the selected interviewees who have provided comprehensive answers, as they are the referents on the initiatives/actions. A limitation of this selection method is that interviewees may be more inclined to highlight positive aspects while downplaying potential constraints that initiatives/actions may have encountered. However, during the interviews, all stakeholders provided complete answers explaining the problems or barriers of the specific initiative/action, so it appears that this constraint did not occur.

To categorise the initiatives/actions within the 13 AE principles, we used the definition of the 13 AE principles provided by Wezel *et al.* (2020). Despite the efforts to obtain detailed information on the initiatives/actions categorised under the 13 AE principles, it is possible that some of them could have been linked to more AE principles compared to what we identified, due either to limited data or to potential interpretation bias.

Additionally, we reported initiatives/actions in all 13 AE principles to which they referred. This results in some of them being included in multiple AE principles, rather than only being reported to the closest AE principle. We made this decision because we believed it was essential to clarify the relationship between all the initiatives/ actions within the 13 AE principles. For example, we categorised the action supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production (action 7) in multiple AE principles, as this action
concerns diets, but also the establishment of a relationship between farmers and food catering services.

The developed AE score allowed the evaluation of the elements (initiatives/actions) in terms of their participation and of the AE principle to which they referred. This helped to recognise that a high presence of different stakeholders who are motivated by the element can positively influence its advancement to have an impact on the agroecosystem and the FS dimension of the AE principle. We decided to assign a weight to each element to avoid over- or underestimation. However, we are aware that this type of evaluation cannot fully capture the complexity and interactions among all elements. In addition, we are aware that the AE score that we developed should be improved. This study did not develop subcategories or very detailed criteria within each AE principle. The AEL assigned for each AE principle is not as detailed as other AE evaluation methods (FAO 2019; Peeters et al. 2021; Darmaun et al. 2023). For instance, other methodologies assessing the farms' AE transition have used more comprehensive frameworks, including 70 to 88 indicators and have collaborated with local FS stakeholders in defining subcategories under each AE principle (Peeters et al. 2021; Darmaun et al. 2023). A future version of the evaluation grid could include subcategories within each AE principle. This would allow for more accurate categorisation of the initiatives and actions within the 13 AE principles. Also, the AL can be improved by adding a benchmark of participants who are involved in the initiative or action, to provide a clearer idea of the number of stakeholders involved. Finally, the scoring system was developed internally within the institute, and the results were only presented and discussed with the coordinator of the TFP. While it would have been useful to co-construct it with local stakeholders, as other AE assessments use this approach. This would have allowed feedback to be incorporated and improved the AE score created. However, in this case study, it was not possible due to time constraints.
# 6 CONCLUSION

This study showed that the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration has developed various initiatives/actions addressing all 13 AE principles (HLPE 2019; Wezel et al. 2020), reaching the 4th level of Gliessman's classification. The AE score indicates that the TFP has developed initiatives/actions relating to agroecology and AE transition, achieving a medium-to-high AE score. However, the terms 'agroecology' and 'AE transition' were not often mentioned in the documents.

Despite the agglomeration facing water scarcity issues, few initiatives/actions have been pursued to preserve water resources. However, the few initiatives/actions developed received a medium-to-high AE score. This suggests an attempt to integrate water into the AE transition, even though it is not directly mentioned in the diagnosis and action plan of the TFP.

The TFP has demonstrated strong collaboration with the governance of the Carcassonne agglomeration and all the stakeholders involved in the TFP. For instance, this has allowed to integrate actions developed by the agglomeration Green Plan into the TFP action plan, strengthening the integration of environmental, land and natural resource dimensions. This strong participation could allow to support the establishment of a robust water governance structure that includes local governance authority, farmers and citizens to build together strategies that can save water and use it for agricultural purposes. In particular, the present study could be used by the Carcassonne agglomeration TFP as a tool to enhance or continue the discussion with stakeholders about the margins of improvement in supporting a higher agricultural diversification or about actions to be continued to preserve water quality and quantity, while also supporting AE systems. Finally, this study provides a useful AE score that shows the margin of improvements to reinforce the relationship between water and agroecology, but also in keeping a strong stakeholders' participation in a TFP that can be involved in AE transition and to be more resilient in the face of the negative consequences of climate change.
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# 8 TABLE OF FIGURES

## List of figures

<table><tr><td>Figure 1 Potential partners of the Territorial Food Project (TFP).</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 2 General approach.</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 3 Cultivated crops in the Carcassonne agglomeration showing that vineyards (pink) are the main agricultural production in the east, whilst cereals for food production (yellow) are the most prevalent crop in the west (Géoservices 2021).</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 4 Description of the crops (a), dairy and meat processing (b) in the Carcassonne agglomeration.</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 5 Food system of the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration.</td><td>16</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 6 Number of initiatives and actions for each of the AE principles.</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 7 Initiatives from the diagnosis report categorised in the 13 AE principles.</td><td>20</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 8 Actions from the action plan categorised in the 13 AE principles.</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 9 Level of agroecologisation of the diagnosis report of the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration. The x-axis shows all the 42 elements divided into the 13 AE principles, while the y-axis reports the sum of the AL score (in blue) and AEL score (in orange). The AE score ranges from 1 to 8 (Wezel et al. 2020; Carcassonne Agglo 2022) (interview 1).</td><td>29</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 10 Level of agroecologisation of the action plan of the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration. The x-axis shows all the 41 elements divided into the 13 AE principles, while the y-axis reports the sum of the AL score (in blue) and AEL score (in orange). The AE score ranges from 1 to 8 (Wezel et al. 2020; Carcassonne Agglo 2024) (interviews 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8).</td><td>31</td></tr><tr><td>Figure 11 AE score and water.</td><td>33</td></tr></table>
# 9 TABLE OF APPENDICES

<table><tr><td>Appendix 1 Occitan TFPs</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Appendix 2 Interview grids</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Appendix 3 Figures of the theoretical framework</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>Appendix 4 Justification of initiative classification in each agroecological principle</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>Appendix 5 Justification of action classification in each agroecological principle</td><td>19</td></tr><tr><td>Appendix 6 Agroecological scoring grid</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Appendix 7 Initiative advancement and agroecological level</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Appendix 8 Action advancement and agroecological levels</td><td>4</td></tr></table>
# APPENDIX 1 OCCITAN TFPs

In 2025, the Occitan administrative region recognized 64 TFPs, second second-highest number among French administrative regions. Of 64 TFPs, 36 refer specific attention to preserving water resources on the France PAT<sup>18</sup> website. Of the 64 TFPs, only 25 made reference to water both in the France PAT and in their diagnosis or action plans<sup>19</sup>, and of these 25 TFPs, 14 TFPs reported attention to water in both the diagnosis and the action plan.

<figure><img src="image_15.png" /></figure>

Territorial food projects (TFPs) in the Occitanie region and their references to water.

The figure shows, for each Occitan TFP, its level and whether it addresses water-relates issued on the France PAT website, in the diagnosis and action plan or in both resources (France PAT 2023).

<footnote n="18"><sup>18</sup> The France PAT serves as national platform in which all the established French TFPs are reported.</footnote>

<footnote n="19"><sup>19</sup> It should be clarified that for some TFPs it was not possible to identify the diagnosis and action plans, leading to a possible loss of information.</footnote>
# APPENDIX 2 INTERVIEW GRIDS

## Interviewee 1: Referent employee of the TFP of the Carcassonne agglomeration

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Diagnosis report - Food system</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Production</td><td><ul><li>How many farmers practice diversified production in the agglomeration area (e.g. half of them)? Have you quantified the areas of the agglomeration where diversified production is most developed?</li><li>Can you show me where they are on the map?</li><li>What products are grown in these areas (ask what crops are grown, olives, vegetables, etc.)?</li><li>What are the reasons for introducing plants such as almonds, pistachios and pomegranates?</li></ul><ul><li>How many animals graze in vineyards?</li><li>Do you intend to encourage an increase in the number of extensive livestock farms in the agglomeration area?</li><li>How do you plan to assess the benefits that this extensive system can bring to the area, particularly in terms of biodiversity and soil structure?</li><li>Where can the animals find water in the vineyards?</li><li>Have you noticed any difference in the quality of the soil in vineyards where animals graze compared to vineyards where there is no grazing? If so, what differences have you observed (e.g. a higher percentage of soil species or better soil quality)?</li></ul><ul><li>What irrigation technique (e.g. micro-irrigation) is used to irrigate water-intensive crops in the agglomeration area (e.g. fruit trees and vegetables)?</li><li>Are you considering replacing these crops with others that require less water? If so, can you indicate which plants you would like to introduce and in what quantities?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Sales/processing</td><td><ul><li>Currently, what share of food sales in the agglomeration area is accounted for by open-air markets?</li><li>Can you provide us with more recent data on the number of other marketing channels in the agglomeration area (supermarkets, grocery stores, bakeries, delicatessens and fishmongers)?</li><li>Have you noticed an increase in the number of producers and consumers at markets over the last 10 years since the development of short supply chains in the agglomeration area?</li><li>Where do the farmers who participate in short supply chains come from (within or outside the agglomeration area)?</li><li>What food products can be found at these markets?</li><li>How many customers are involved (elderly or young people) and who are they?</li><li>Have you noticed that diversifying production can guarantee an increase in income for producers?</li></ul><ul><li>Can you tell us, as a percentage, how much of the agricultural produce produced in the agglomeration area is processed in the short food chain and how much is processed in the long food chain?</li><li>What proportion of agricultural and animal products produced in the agglomeration area is exported, and what proportion is imported?</li><li>This is a somewhat specific question: where do you place the <i>Graines Equitables</i> processor in the food chain, short or long?</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td><ul><li>Are Pays Cathare products processed in the agglomeration area or outside it?</li><li>Are these products consumed locally or exported throughout France (and abroad)?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Consumption</td><td><ul><li>Is it possible to know the number of collective restaurants and canteens in the agglomeration area?</li><li>Do you know how many people eat outside their homes during the day in the agglomeration area (school canteens, hospitals and public companies)?</li><li>Do you know how this compares to consumption at home?</li><li>Are the products from the Pays Cathare label consumed locally or are they mainly consumed in the rest of France or abroad?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Food waste management</td><td><ul><li>In the diagnosis, you mention creating a composting area. If this goes ahead, where will it be located and how will it work?</li><li>Could you tell us the volume of compost produced and the number of people bringing in material for composting?</li><li>Will water be used to treat the compost? If so, how many litres of water will be needed?</li><li>How many bales of rice are reused in the brewery (in kg)?</li><li>Do you have any other examples of recycled by-products that can be seen in the agglomeration area?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Participation</td><td><ul><li>Are there other partners who are very actively involved in the activities of the Carcassonne TFP?</li><li>Was the community involved in the development of the action plan? Were their views taken into account in the action plan?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><strong>Action plan</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Action 1: Creating a collective dynamic to facilitate the setting up of farms in the area.</td><td><strong>Link with water management</strong><ul><li>Could you give us more details about the water access study carried out in Lavalette and Pezens?</li><li>Based on the information from your study, are you considering building reservoirs to store water?</li><li>After your study, how much water is available in Lavalette and Pezens for agricultural purposes?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Action 2: Setting up an Agricultural Test Area (ATA).</td><td><strong>Link with agroecology</strong><ul><li>Is it an 'agricultural testing space' that welcomes farmers (each with their own plot)?</li><li>Is it a place for farmers to meet and learn (are there any activities)?</li><li>What is shared: only technical and administrative resources, or more?</li><li>Are there other agroecological principles that relate to this initiative, such as the co-creation of knowledge?</li><li>Are there internal regulations concerning production methods?</li><li>How many farmers will be involved?</li><li>Where do the farmers come from (the agglomeration area or elsewhere)?</li></ul><strong>Link with water management</strong><ul><li>Was the issue of water raised when choosing the site for the test area? Or when it was set up? Can you tell us about this?</li><li>Have you installed irrigation equipment or infrastructure?</li><li>Are water management rules imposed on users of the test area? What are they?</li><li>How do you ensure the dual use of water, given that fires and irrigation take place at the same time?</li><li>In Action 2, you also mention that the water reserve is used for agriculture. Is this water used on the estate or elsewhere? For which crops?</li></ul></td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td><ul><li>What are the estimated needs for agriculture? Will it be possible to access the study you conducted on water?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Action 4: Rehabilitating and developing the Domaine des Rougeats.</td><td><strong>Link with agroecology</strong><ul><li>What are the management objectives for these grasslands? To improve biodiversity? To combat fires? Or to improve soil quality by introducing crops after grasslands? If so, what crops do you plan to introduce?</li><li>You have stated that you also want to develop dry agricultural areas, so some pastures would have to be converted for agricultural production? How many hectares will be affected?</li><li>You plan to introduce a shepherd to the Domaine, but what and how many animals will be introduced? Will the animals graze only during the summer or all year round?</li><li>How do you plan to ensure that wild animals and the shepherd's animals can coexist in the same territory (animal health)?</li><li>How do you intend to preserve the estate's biodiversity, solely through animal grazing? For this action, is the emphasis on preserving biodiversity or on the crops that will be grown on the estate? Or do you also plan to develop environmental measures to assess the estate's biodiversity?</li><li>How do you plan to manage the forest in order to generate income and preserve biodiversity? Do you want to sell forest products, such as wood or tree fruits?</li></ul><strong>Link with water management</strong><ul><li>How do you plan to make better use of rainwater? How much rainwater can be stored? (in % or m3)</li><li>Does the issue of water come into play in this action? (in the form of requirements or constraints for farmers)?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Action 5: Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration.</td><td><strong>Characterization of the food system</strong><ul><li>Where do you want to develop local sales and short supply chains?</li><li>How many short supply chains and local distribution networks do you want to develop?</li><li>How many producers will be involved in this activity?</li><li>What percentage of producers participating in the project are from the Carcassonne agglomeration area? What products will be sold and in what quantities?</li></ul><strong>Link with agroecology</strong><ul><li>Do you want to promote agroecological practices through this action? If so, how?</li></ul><strong>Link with water management</strong><ul><li>Do the farmers involved in the project also receive specific training to improve their management of natural resources (reducing the use of external inputs)?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Action 6: Supporting and developing an innovative local agricultural chain.</td><td><strong>Characterization of the food system</strong><ul><li>How will this action contribute to improving the share of local supply to collective restaurants in the agglomeration area?</li></ul><strong>Link with water management</strong><ul><li>What plant products does the project plan to develop?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Action 7: Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, local food.</td><td><strong>Characterization of the food system</strong><ul><li>How many local products per week do you expect (in %) to have in collective catering?</li><li>How many organic products per week do you expect (in %) to have in collective catering?</li><li>What is the maximum distance (in kilometres) that products must be sourced from in order to be considered local?</li><li>Can local food production meet the needs of institutional catering?</li></ul></td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td>organic and local production.</td><td><ul><li>Do you use contracts (e.g. to ensure greater fairness) to recruit more farmers and ensure greater availability of organic and local products in canteens? In what way are the contracts 'fair'?</li><li>How many farmers will be involved in this project?</li><li>How many farmers participating in the initiative are from the agglomeration area, and how many are from outside the agglomeration area?</li><li>Are there any planned meetings (direct contacts) between producers and users (central kitchens)?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Action 8: Improving and enhancing local food aid for vulnerable groups.</td><td><strong>Characterization of the food system</strong><ul><li>Do you think the action could be identified as an example of reuse for the TFP (explain the concept of reuse using Dario's map)?</li><li>Can you explain how you manage to collect uneaten food?</li><li>What type of shop (supermarket, grocery store, bakery, etc.) does the food bank buy these products from? What is the quantity of products (in kg or tonnes) that are reused by food aid organisations?</li><li>How many people have received food aid (number or percentage)?</li><li>What is the proportion of products from the agglomeration area compared to the proportion of products from outside the area?</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Action 12: Supporting the development of local food outlets.</td><td><strong>Characterization of the food system</strong><ul><li>Which local outlets are supported? (What types? Which ones? Where?)</li><li>How many producers and consumers are involved?</li><li>Where do the farmers come from?</li><li>What agricultural products will be sold and in what quantities?</li><li>Who are the customers involved (elderly or young people)? How many customers are involved?</li></ul></td></tr></table>

## Interviewee 2: Referent employee of the Water scheme for the Carcassonne agglomeration

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Action plan</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 14: Managing the agricultural water scheme, managing the agricultural hydraulic unit.</td><td><strong>Link with agroecology</strong><ul><li>This action includes a component on adapting agricultural practices to reduce vulnerability to drought in the absence of irrigation. What agricultural practices do you wish to encourage in order to be less dependent on water?</li><li>In which area of the agglomeration do you intend to develop these agricultural practices?</li><li>Would it be possible to obtain the charter of good agricultural practices that you have drawn up?</li></ul><strong>Link with water management</strong><ul><li>The second part concerns the creation of irrigation infrastructure. How many litres (or m3) of water do you want to store? Where will you store it?</li><li>How many hectares could be irrigated with the stored water?</li><li>Do you think this action could lead to different water management practices?</li><li>Will it be possible to share the shapefile mapping document? Would it be possible to have the study on water storage done?</li><li>Are there any irrigation networks that need to be created as part of this action: how many hectares are targeted for irrigation? For how many farmers?</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td><ul><li>What agricultural production is envisaged? (Vines?) Are there any expected trade-offs in terms of agricultural practices?</li><li>How much water (in volume) do you want to treat?</li><li>In which area of the agglomeration will you treat the wastewater? What percentage of the treated water will be allocated to each sector (e.g. agriculture, parks, gardens)?</li><li>Do you think that this action, which may enable different water management, can bring benefits to the agroecosystem?</li></ul></td></tr></table>

## Interviewee 3: Research representative of the SagiTerres project (INRAE)

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Diagnosis report</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Extensive grazing area: SagiTerres project</td><td><strong>Link with agroecology</strong><ul><li>Is there a map (QGIS or other) showing the location of the SagiTerres project, including the areas and crops involved in the project?</li><li>Has the number of grazing animals increased or remained the same since you implemented the project (reference period 2022-2024)?</li><li>How many farmers are involved in the project?</li><li>Are there cases where farmers are also shepherds?</li><li>Do the shepherds come from the agglomeration or from outside the agglomeration?</li><li>In the case of <i>Graines Equitables</i>, are the animals introduced into areas within the Carcassonne agglomeration or outside it?</li><li>Have you taken into account a water source in each grazing area?</li><li>How would it be possible to graze animals in these areas if temperatures rise, and if this rise also risks reducing the presence of plants in the grazing areas?</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Interviewee 4: Referent employee of the Chamber of Agriculture for food catering and canteens in the Aude department

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Action plan</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 7: Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production.</td><td><strong>Characterization of the food system</strong><ul><li>How many local products per week do you expect (in %) to have in collective catering?</li><li>How many organic products per week do you expect (in %) to have in collective catering?</li><li>What is the maximum distance (in kilometres) that products must be sourced from to be considered local?</li><li>Can local food production meet the needs of institutional catering?</li><li>Do you use contracts (e.g. to ensure greater fairness) to recruit more farmers and ensure greater availability of organic and local products in canteens? In what way are the contracts 'fair'?</li><li>How many farmers will be involved in this project?</li><li>How many farmers participating in the initiative are from the agglomeration area, and how many are from outside the agglomeration area?</li><li>Are there any planned meetings (direct contacts) between producers and users (central kitchens)?</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Interviewee 5: Referent employee of the Chamber of Agriculture for water issues in the Aude department
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Action plan</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 14: Managing the agricultural water scheme, managing the agricultural hydraulic unit.</td><td><strong>Link with water management</strong><ul><li>Could it be possible to obtain the maps of: irrigated areas, ASAs networks, high-resolution/local soil maps, the distribution of new trends concerning crop diversification in the territory?</li><li>Can you tell us more about the crops' water requirements (including newly introduced ones)?</li><li>Can you tell us more about the most common irrigation techniques depending on crops/geomorphological zones/other factors?</li><li>Can you provide data on the crop yields (including those of newly introduced crops)?</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Interviewee 6: Referent employee of the Transition and Biodiversity for the Carcassonne agglomeration

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Action plan</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 16: Drawing up and leading a vegetal plan (green plan).</td><td><strong>Characterization of the food system</strong><ul><li>Which zone is covered by the vegetal plan (location and area)?</li><li>Do you have a map of the risk areas? (if one has been produced)</li></ul><strong>Link with agroecology</strong><ul><li>In the vegetal plan, what actions concerning agricultural and environmental practices have you put in place?</li></ul><strong>Link with water management</strong><ul><li>What actions have you developed to deal with flooding (perhaps list the number of actions)?</li><li>What actions have you implemented or are you considering to 'regenerate the natural water cycle'?</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Interviewee 7: Referent employee of the Natura 2000 project for the Carcassonne agglomeration

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Action plan</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 15: Setting up an Agro-Environmental and Climate Project (AECP).</td><td><strong>Characterization of the food system</strong><ul><li>Does this action concern the Natura 2000 area?</li><li>What is the total area of this zone, its utilised agricultural area (UAA) and how many farmers work there?</li><li>What crops are grown by farmers in this zone?</li></ul><strong>Link with agroecology</strong><ul><li>Which AECM measures have been selected (action 1)?</li><li>Do you already have feedback on their effectiveness in terms of biodiversity?</li><li>For action 2, can you specify which agricultural (and agroecological) practices you wish to teach farmers (e.g. cover crops, local agricultural varieties, etc.)?</li></ul><strong>Link with water management</strong><ul><li>Among the selected agri-environmental measures, do any concern water management? Which ones?</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Interviewee 8: Referent territorial animator for the Chamber of Agriculture

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Action plan</th></tr></thead></table>
Action 1:
Creating a
collective
dynamic to
facilitate the
setting up of
farms in the
area.

Link with water management

* Could you give us more details about the water access study carried out in Lavalette and Pezens?

* Based on the information from your study, are you considering building reservoirs to store water?

* After your study, how much water is available in Lavalette and Pezens for agricultural purposes?

Action 5:
Encouraging and
developing
agricultural
diversification in
the
agglomeration.

Characterization of the food system

* Where do you want to develop local sales and short supply chains?

* How many short supply chains and local distribution networks do you want to develop?
* How many producers will be involved in this activity?

* What percentage of producers participating in the project are from the Carcassonne agglomeration area? What products will be sold and in what quantities?

Link with agroecology

* Do you want to promote agroecological practices through this action? If so, how?

Link with water management

* Do the farmers involved in the project also receive specific training to improve their management of natural resources (reducing the use of external inputs)?
## APPENDIX 3 FIGURES OF THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The FS scheme illustrates the elements that comprise it, including food production, processing, consumption, and waste. It also represents the biophysical and human environments, as well as its inputs and outputs that can influence it. The FS scheme shows four main phases of the FS. Starting from the left, there is the food production space, composed of the agricultural production, food production, livestock feeding, and non-food production. The food production specifically refers to food intended for human consumption. The non-food production concerns crops such as ornamental and medicinal plants that are not consumed as food, but can be used for other purposes, such as the production of medicinal products. The livestock feeding space refers to the food nutrients used by animals. Then, there is the food transformation and distribution phase, during which food is processed either locally or within a long food chain involving various stakeholders in the FS, such as wholesalers and retailers. During this phase, some food arrives at the restaurant and food catering facilities, where it is transformed and cooked, or it goes directly to the consumption phase. This phase concerns spaces where people can eat, both in private and public areas. Finally, there is the food waste management, during which the waste is managed through recycling, discarding, and reusing. Specifically, recycling activities refer to the food waste that, after being treated, can return to agricultural production as compost. Discarding occurs when it is not possible to treat resources differently, while reusing refers to food that arrives at the consumption level, which is not consumed but is clean and safe to redistribute through organisations such as food banks. Furthermore, each FS has its own biophysical and sociocultural environment, which shapes the FS. In all FSs, inputs such as chemical compounds used in agricultural as well as natural resources are often added in food production. Additionally, some outputs are produced, which refer to the food production as well as the greenhouse gas emissions that the FS is producing in its different phases.

<figure><img src="image_16.png" /><figcaption>Food systems</figcaption></figure>

The food system figure illustrates the main phases of the food system, from the food production to the food waste management (developed by Dario Pérez UMR G-EAU).
The five levels developed by Gliessman are presented. The first 3 refer to the agroecosystem level, while the fourth and the fifth refer to the FS dimension.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Transformational</td><td>Level 5 Build a new global food system based on participation, localness, fairness and justice<br>Level 4 Reconnect consumers and producers through the development of alternative food networks<br>Level 3 Redesign agroecosystems</td><td>Food systems</td></tr><tr><td>Incremental</td><td>Level 2 Substitute conventional inputs and practices with agroecological alternatives<br>Level 1 Increase efficiency of input use and reduce use of costly, scarce or environmentally damaging inputs</td><td>Agroecosystem</td></tr></tbody></table>

Gliessman's agroecological levels
The table presents the 5 levels of Gliessman. The first 3 refer to the agroecosystem level, while the last 2 levels refer to the food system dimension (Gliessman 2006).

The last figure illustrates the 13 AE principles. The first seven principles relate to the agroecosystem dimension (in green), while the final five refer to the food system (in blue).

<figure><img src="image_17.png" /><figcaption>The 13 AE principles.</figcaption></figure>

The figure shows the 13 AE principles; the first seven refer to the agroecosystem dimension, while the remaining six concern the food system dimension (Wezel et al. 2020).
## APPENDIX 4 JUSTIFICATION OF INITIATIVE CLASSIFICATION IN EACH AGROECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE

We did not address all initiatives during the interviews. Although all were considered relevant for the case study, time constraints led us to focus on specific initiatives from the diagnosis report—those linked to FS, the AE transition, and water. Additionally, we decided to focus on initiatives that deserved more attention as they were not detailed in the diagnosis report. For example, while the implementation of water catchments to monitor water quality was a complete and clearly described initiative, we gave priority to more ambiguous initiatives that needed clarification.

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="4">Initiatives</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Initiative name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the diagnosis report</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Use of the rice husk for the beer production.</td><td>Recycling</td><td>The rice husk cultivated in the agglomeration (La Marseillette) is used for the beer production (the brewery is also located in the agglomeration).</td><td>There is a farmer who produces rice, but it is not possible to know how much rice husk the farmer supplies to the brewery.</td></tr><tr><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards.</td><td>Recycling</td><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards (control of canopy cover in wine-growing, fire-fighting, opening up of environments, closing of nutrient cycles, etc.).</td><td>A trend was observed in the development of grazing activities, particularly in the Minervois area, where grassland and some vineyards are present.</td></tr><tr><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>Recycling</td><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>A trend was observed in the development of grazing activities, particularly in the Minervois area, where grassland and some vineyards are present.</td></tr><tr><td>Cultivation of the cover crops with the collaboration of the TFP and the agricultural High School of Carcassonne.</td><td>Input reduction</td><td>Cultivation of the cover crops with the support of the Agricultural High School of Carcassonne.</td><td>The activity was carried out in collaboration with the Agricultural High School. The TFP is willing to develop a project, and if they receive funding for it, they will strengthen their collaboration with the Agricultural High School.</td></tr><tr><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards.</td><td>Input reduction</td><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards (control of canopy cover in wine-growing, fire-fighting,)</td><td>A trend was observed in the development of grazing activities, particularly in the Minervois area,</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="4">Initiatives</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Initiative name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the diagnosis report</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>Input reduction</td><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>A trend was observed in the development of grazing activities, particularly in the Minervois area, where grassland and some vineyards are present.</td></tr><tr><td>Cultivation of the cover crops with the collaboration of the TFP and the Agricultural High School of Carcassonne.</td><td>Soil health</td><td>Cultivation of the cover crops with the support of the Agricultural High School of Carcassonne.</td><td>The activity was carried out in collaboration with the Agricultural High School. The TFP is willing to develop a project, and if they receive funding for it, they will strengthen their collaboration with the Agricultural High School.</td></tr><tr><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards.</td><td>Soil health</td><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards (control of canopy cover in wine-growing, fire-fighting, opening up of environments, closing of nutrient cycles, etc.).</td><td>A trend was observed in the development of grazing activities, particularly in the Minervois area, where grassland and some vineyards are present.</td></tr><tr><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>Soil health</td><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>A trend was observed in the development of grazing activities, particularly in the Minervois area, where grassland and some vineyards are present.</td></tr><tr><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards.</td><td>Animal health</td><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards (control of canopy cover in wine-growing, fire-fighting, opening up of environments, closing of nutrient cycles, etc.).</td><td>A trend was observed in the development of grazing activities, particularly in the Minervois area, where grassland and some vineyards are present.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="4">Initiatives</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Initiative name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the diagnosis report</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>Animal health</td><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>A trend was observed in the development of grazing activities, particularly in the Minervois area, where grassland and some vineyards are present.</td></tr><tr><td>Cultivation of the cover crops with the collaboration of the TFP and the Agricultural High School of Carcassonne.</td><td>Biodiversity</td><td>Cultivation of the cover crops with the collaboration of the TFP and the Agricultural High School of Carcassonne.</td><td>The activity was carried out in collaboration with the Agricultural High School. The TFP is willing to develop a project, and if they receive funding for it, they will strengthen their collaboration with the Agricultural High School.</td></tr><tr><td>Rice and vineyard cultivation growing nearby.</td><td>Biodiversity</td><td>Rice and vineyard cultivation growing nearby.</td><td>Farmers are diversifying their production. This allows for diversifying the production, but the main reason to do it is to have a more diversified income.</td></tr><tr><td>Simultaneous cultivation of vineyards for export, olive trees and truffles.</td><td>Biodiversity</td><td>Simultaneous cultivation of vineyards for export, olive trees and truffles.</td><td>Farmers are diversifying their production. The main reason they do this is to have a more diversified income. This also allows for an increase in biodiversity.</td></tr><tr><td>Simultaneous cultivation of vineyard and olive trees.</td><td>Biodiversity</td><td>Simultaneous cultivation of vineyard and olive trees.</td><td>Farmers are diversifying their production. The main reason they do this is to have a more diversified income. This also allows for an increase in biodiversity.</td></tr><tr><td>Introduction of fruits such as almonds, pistachios and pomegranates.</td><td>Biodiversity</td><td>Introduction of fruits such as almonds, pistachios and pomegranates (improving the economic resilience of the farm, adapting to climate change, seeking higher value-added production).</td><td>Some farmers are introducing these crops because wine is less profitable than it used to be, and it also allows them to diversify their income. Finally, the Occitanie region is also providing subsidies</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="4">Initiatives</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Initiative name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the diagnosis report</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards.</td><td>Synergy</td><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards (control of canopy cover in wine-growing, fire-fighting, opening up of environments, closing of nutrient cycles, etc.).</td><td>A trend was observed in the development of grazing activities, particularly in the Minervois area, where grassland and some vineyards are present. This action allowed for establishing interaction between the soil and animal grazing. Animals can use the locally available resources while also enriching the soil with their manure.</td></tr><tr><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>Synergy</td><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>A trend was observed in the development of grazing activities, particularly in the Minervois area, where grassland and some vineyards are present. This action allowed for establishing interaction between the soil and animal grazing. Animals can use the locally available resources while also enriching the soil with their manure.</td></tr><tr><td>Short local food chains have developed in the agglomeration in the last ten years or so.</td><td>Economic diversification</td><td>Short local food chains have developed in the agglomeration in the last ten years or so.</td><td>The farmers who are involved in these types of markets are from the agglomeration or areas close to it. However, what was noticed is that wealthy families buy food from smallholder producers, while the lower middle classes acquire food from food retailers present in the market.</td></tr><tr><td>The Pays Cathare label is a way of promoting the local produce of the area.</td><td>Economic diversification</td><td>The Pays Cathare label is a way of promoting the local produce of the area (although it is not a label reserved only for the agglomeration, but used for the whole of the Aude department).</td><td>To sell products bearing this label, farmers and sellers must be from the Aude department. The food produced with this label is mainly consumed at the agglomeration/departmental level.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="4">Initiatives</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Initiative name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the diagnosis report</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Introduction of fruits such as almonds, pistachios and pomegranate</td><td>Economic diversification</td><td>Introduction of fruits such as almonds, pistachios and pomegranates (improving the economic resilience of the farm, adapting to climate change, seeking higher value-added production).</td><td>Some farmers are introducing these crops because wine is less profitable than it used to be, and because it allows them to diversify their income. Finally, the Occitanie region is also providing subsidies for farmers who are introducing these types of crops.</td></tr><tr><td>Vegetable and fruit food fairs, farmers' markets.</td><td>Economic diversification</td><td>Vegetable and fruit food fairs, farmers' markets are organised during the year in different areas of the agglomeration.</td><td>This initiative was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Percentage of farms involved in the labelling of quality and origin.</td><td>Economic diversification</td><td>Percentage of farms involved in the labelling of identification of quality and origin.</td><td>This initiative was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Most of the wine produced by a local wine cooperative is sold in bulk to wholesalers. The majority of the wine produced is PGI and HVE certified, and a minority is PDO.</td><td>Economic diversification</td><td>Most of the wine produced by a local wine cooperative is sold in bulk to wholesalers, although the cooperative does have two sales cellars, which also allow it to directly sell its wine. The majority of the wine produced is PGI and HVE certified, and a minority is PDO.</td><td>This initiative was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Cultivation of vineyards for export, olive trees and truffles. Olives are processed into oil by a cooperative and into table olives by the Domaine des Pères.</td><td>Economic diversification</td><td>Cultivation of vineyards for export, olive trees and truffles. Olives are processed into oil by a cooperative and into table olives by the Domaine des Pères.</td><td>Farmers are diversifying their production. The main reason they do this is to have a more diversified income.</td></tr><tr><td>Cultivation of wine and olive trees.</td><td>Economic diversification</td><td>Cultivation of wine and olive trees, the oil is processed on site. Meanwhile, the part that is not processed on the farms</td><td>Farmers are diversifying their production. The main reason they</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="4">Initiatives</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Initiative name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the diagnosis report</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>At the national level, the <i>Egalim</i> law has been established, and canteens should use 50% quality-certified food, and 20% should be organic.</td><td>Social values and diets</td><td>is given to the cooperative. This allows for revenue diversification.<br>At the national level, the <i>Egalim</i> law has been established, and canteens should use 50% quality-certified food, and 20% should be organic.</td><td>do this is to have a more diversified income.<br>There is a national law, but it is difficult to enforce due to limited economic resources.</td></tr><tr><td>The <i>Pays Cathare</i> label supports the local and traditional food production of the agglomeration (and of the department).</td><td>Social values and diets</td><td>The <i>Pays Cathare</i> label supports the local and traditional food production of the agglomeration (and of the department).</td><td>To sell products bearing this label, farmers and sellers must be from the Aude department. The food produced with this label is mainly consumed at the agglomeration/departmental level. This allows to keep the local traditional knowledge.</td></tr><tr><td>Short local food chains have developed in the agglomeration in the last ten years or so.</td><td>Connectivity</td><td>Short local food chains have developed in the agglomeration in the last ten years or so.</td><td>The farmers who are involved in these types of markets are from the agglomeration or areas close to it. However, what was noticed is that wealthy families buy food from smallholder producers, while the lower middle classes acquire food from food retailers present in the market.</td></tr><tr><td>Solidarity purchasing groups.</td><td>Connectivity</td><td>Solidarity purchasing groups (with a focus on organic farming and organised mainly in the town of Carcassonne).</td><td>This initiative was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Vegetable and fruit food fairs, farmers' markets.</td><td>Connectivity</td><td>Vegetable and fruit food fairs, farmers' markets.</td><td>This initiative was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>The <i>Pays Cathare</i> label supports the local and traditional food production of the agglomeration (and of the department).</td><td>Connectivity</td><td>The <i>Pays Cathare</i> label supports the local and traditional food production of the agglomeration (and of the department).</td><td>To sell products bearing this label, farmers and sellers must be from the Aude department. The food produced with this label is mainly consumed at the agglomeration/departmental level. This allows to keep the local traditional knowledge.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="4">Initiatives</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Initiative name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the diagnosis report</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>food production of the agglomeration (and of the department).</td><td></td><td>the agglomeration (and of the department), reinforcing the relationship between producers and consumers.</td><td>produced with this label is mainly consumed at the agglomeration/departmental level. The connections between producers, sellers and citizens seem to be quite strong.</td></tr><tr><td>Graines Equitables is a food cooperative located in the agglomeration, which is involved in organic production and aims to transform locally their own food.</td><td>Connectivity</td><td>Graines Equitables is a food cooperative located in the agglomeration, which is transforming and selling its produce both for local and national consumption. At the territorial level, they are also building relationships with consumers in order to support the local production and consumption.</td><td>The cooperative has secured a project, and they are keen to develop a successful local food chain in collaboration with local schools.</td></tr><tr><td>There are several small food-processing facilities in the agglomeration, supporting local food transformation.</td><td>Connectivity</td><td>There are several small food-processing facilities in the agglomeration, supporting local food transformation.</td><td>This initiative was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Use of the rice husk for the beer production.</td><td>Connectivity</td><td>Using rice husks enables to strengthening of the relationship between the rice farmers and the brewery, while reducing waste and recycling resources.</td><td>A collaboration between a rice producer and a brewery allows for strengthening the relationship between FS producers.</td></tr><tr><td>Water catchments for monitoring water quality.</td><td>Land and natural resource governance</td><td>Catchment areas are introduced for water monitoring purposes in order to evaluate water quality in the agglomeration.</td><td>This initiative was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>93 farms received aid for agro-environmental and climate measures</td><td>Land and natural resource governance</td><td>93 farms received aid for agro-environmental and climate measures to reduce or even eliminate pesticide use. This</td><td>This initiative was not asked.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="4">Initiatives</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Initiative name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the diagnosis report</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>to reduce or even eliminate pesticide use. This allowed for improvement in the quality of water used for agricultural purposes.</td><td></td><td>allowed for improvement in the quality of water used for agricultural purposes.</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Partnership with local partners such as the Chamber of Agriculture, Biocivam, Maison Paysanne de l'Aude (Farmers' house of Aude), the Agricultural High School of Carcassonne and citizens.</td><td>Participation</td><td>The diagnosis report referred to different parts.</td><td>There is a fairly strong partnership with the following organisations: the Chamber of Agriculture, Biocivam, the Maison Paysanne de l'Aude (Farmers' house of Aude), citizens and other related organisations. Probably soon, the TFP will also be working closely with the Agricultural High School of Carcassonne.</td></tr></tbody></table>
## APPENDIX 5 JUSTIFICATION OF ACTION CLASSIFICATION IN EACH AGROECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE

To conduct interviews with the various stakeholders who participated in structuring the TFP's action plan, the information reported in the document was analysed. Based on this analysis, we developed questions for actions that, in our opinion, lacked quantitative information and for which further insight was required to understand their connection with the agroecological transition. The questions were formulated for the following actions: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, and 16. No questions were formulated concerning actions 3, 9, 10, 11, and 13. While these actions are relevant to the Carcassonne case study area, they were not extremely helpful in understanding the AE transition in terms of both the agroecosystem and the FS dimension. Action 3 relates to the development of an application to inform farmers about available land and options to purchase it. While this action can support the agricultural activities, it is not particularly relevant in understanding the agroecological areas. Action 9 refers to food provision for young people, to address food insecurity among this part of society. However, this was not taken into account, as Action 8 already addresses food aid for the community. Furthermore, Action 9 clearly stipulated the planned activities and referred to the number of young people who have and will continue to benefit from the food aid. Action 10 involves the local community in activities related to FSs, such as screenings and debates on the FS topic. Additionally, this action refers to the organisation of cooking activities and workshops. The activities developed for this action are very clear and already quantified. For this reason, it was decided not to further investigate it during the interviews. Action 11 focused specifically on children and their families, offering cooking workshops. As for Action 10, the planned actions and the activities developed are clear and have already been quantified. For this reason, no questions were prepared for this action. Action 13 pertains to supporting local food fairs. It was observed that the actions developed focus specifically on enhancing the communication of food fairs, which is not extremely pertinent to the research objectives. For this reason, it was decided not to investigate this action.

Finally, we are aware that personal expectations could also have unintentionally influenced how the data was collected, interpreted, and presented. For instance, the student has a more profound understanding of FS compared to the agroecosystem dimension. This disparity in expertise has the potential to result in the inadvertent exclusion of agroecosystem-related initiatives and actions. Finally, interpretation bias could have occurred during the utilisation of the 13 AE principles as defined by Wezel *et al.* (2020). This could have resulted in an underrepresentation of the initiatives and actions within some of the aforementioned principles. For example, initiatives or actions were categorised based on the AE principles, as determined by the information obtained from the two documents and the data collected during the interviews. However, the information was not always very detailed, so it is possible that some initiatives and actions could have fit under multiple AE principles and that these were not recognised during the data collection and analysis.

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="3">Actions</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Action number and name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the action plan document</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 1: Creating a collective dynamic to facilitate the setting up of farms in the area (water study on the areas).</td><td>Land and natural resource governance</td><td>A study has been conducted on water resources to evaluate their potential for agricultural use.</td><td>The study showed that insufficient water could be pumped. In the current days, there is an interest in supporting the development of agricultural land, but water for irrigation is not currently available.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="3">Actions</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Action number and name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the action plan document</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 1: Creating a collective dynamic to facilitate the setting up of farms in the area (water study on the areas).</td><td>Participation</td><td>Some agricultural available space in Lavalette and Pezens could be used to allow farmers' installation.</td><td>The action has been supported by the participation of the TFP, the Chamber of Agriculture and some farmers. Despite limitations to the project's development, such as the lack of water for agricultural use, a farmer is willing to continue it.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 2: Setting up an Agricultural Test Area.</td><td>Land and natural resource governance</td><td>The space is used by farmers to develop their agricultural projects. This also enables taking care of available land and natural resources.</td><td>Through this project, farmers can use an agricultural space and manage the available natural resources such as soil, through their agricultural activities. However, no attention was given to develop actions for preserving water resources.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 3: Helping local authorities to monitor and acquire agricultural land</td><td>Land and natural resource governance</td><td>Giving access to land to farmers, allowing them to better manage land and natural resources.</td><td>This action was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 4: Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats.</td><td>Recycling</td><td>Grazing animals and developing an agricultural area.</td><td>This action aims to create spaces dedicated to animals and the cultivation of crops such as legumes and cereals. Through the grazing of animals and legume cultivation, it is possible to recycle resources and close the nutrient cycle.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 4: Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats.</td><td>Input reduction</td><td>Animals grazing and crop cultivation. Establishment of water reservoirs.</td><td>This action aims to develop a complex agroecosystem. The presence of animals and nitrogen-fixing crops reduces the need for external resources. Additionally, the introduction of two water tanks will allow for reduction of the dependency on the Aude river and use it for agricultural purposes only when needed, avoiding water waste.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Actions</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Action number and name</th><th>Agroecological principles</th><th>Based on the action plan document</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 4: Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats (improving soil quality).</td><td>Soil health</td><td>Improving the soil quality.</td><td>The presence of grazing animals should improve the soil health. Additionally, crop rotations (specifically having legume plants) should also be beneficial for soil health.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 4: Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats (animal grazing).</td><td>Animal health</td><td>A herd will be introduced in the area, which can graze in an open space.</td><td>The area can host around 200 animals, which will allow animals to graze in an open space and improve their health.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 4: Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats.</td><td>Biodiversity</td><td>Manage the forest of the Domaine sustainably and protect areas and habitats with high biodiversity values. Maintain agricultural and grazing areas.</td><td>They aim to increase the agrobiodiversity of cultivated species, as well as the flora and fauna that already inhabit the area.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 4: Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats.</td><td>Sinergy</td><td>Manage the area through grazing animals and agricultural use. Through the grazing animals, it will be possible to reduce the risk of fire.</td><td>The development of a complex agroecosystem comprising animals that can support open spaces and reduce fire risk, as well as a high diversity of species and crops that can improve soil health, enables the development of numerous synergies between the different components of the agroecosystem.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 4: Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats.</td><td>Land and natural resource governance</td><td>Create a dual-use of water, to contrast fires and for agricultural use.</td><td>Requalifying the area enables water to be stored and used for irrigation and in the event of wildfire, which are quite frequent in the area. Additionally, the grazing and agricultural system that will be developed will help to preserve soil health.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Actions</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Action number and name</th><th>Agroecological principles</th><th>Based on the action plan document</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 5: Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration.</td><td>Input reduction</td><td>Introduce crops that could be more resilient to the effects of climate change and consume less water.</td><td>These crops allow to reduce the dependency on external inputs such as water.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 5: Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration.</td><td>Biodiversity</td><td>Introduce crops that could be more resilient to the effects of climate change.</td><td>Some specific crops, such as orchard trees, are being introduced to the area. However, the main reason why farmers are introducing them is to diversify their economy, rather than for biodiversity reasons.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 5: Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration.</td><td>Economic diversification</td><td>Develop a short and local food chain, as well as structure the supply chain from production to sale.</td><td>The action aims to develop a local short food chain to commercialise local food and reduce farmers' dependence on a single main crop.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 5: Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration.</td><td>Co-creation of knowledge</td><td>Technical forums are organised to facilitate the exchange of knowledge between farmers and local agricultural institutions.</td><td>These forums provide a space for the exchange of knowledge, where farmers can learn about new crop diversification techniques and hear from farmers who have started crop diversification.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 5: Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration.</td><td>Connectivity</td><td>Technical forums are organised to facilitate the exchange of knowledge between farmers and local agricultural institutions.</td><td>The technical forums provide a space for farmers to meet others who have started a crop diversification system and create connections between peers.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Actions</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Action number and name</th><th>Agroecological principles</th><th>Based on the action plan document</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 5: Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration.</td><td>Participation</td><td>Technical forums are organised to facilitate the exchange of knowledge between farmers and local agricultural institutions.</td><td>Technical forums are organised to encourage knowledge-sharing between farmers and local agricultural institutions.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 6: Supporting and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration.</td><td>Social values and diets</td><td>The cooperative <i>Graines Equitables</i> is willing to collaborate with school canteens to sell organic fruit and promote healthier, and organic diets in school canteens.</td><td>The cooperative <i>Graines Equitables</i> received funding for a project they presented at a national level. They plan to collaborate with school canteens to offer healthier and organic meals.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 6: Supporting and developing an innovative local agricultural chain.</td><td>Land and natural resource governance</td><td>The cooperative <i>Graines Equitables</i> is willing to support a short food chain through a production and transformation that occurs at the agglomeration level.</td><td>The cooperative <i>Graines Equitables</i> received funding for a project that they presented at the National level. They are starting to develop a local food chain for various products, including cereals and vegetables, which are produced in the area.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 7: Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production.</td><td>Co-creation of knowledge</td><td>The TFP, with the support of a local organisation, is willing to establish connections between farmers and food catering services.</td><td>This action aims to develop both a short food chain and a platform that enables farmers to respond to the food requirements of food catering services. The farmers involved in the project come from the agglomeration and include vegetable and fruit producers. This project could facilitate knowledge exchange between farmers, the TFP and food catering services.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 7: Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production.</td><td>Social values and diets</td><td>The TFP, with the support of a local organisation, is willing to establish connections between farmers and food catering services.</td><td>This action aims to offer more organic and quality-based products for people attending the catering services.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Actions</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Action number and name</th><th>Agroecological principles</th><th>Based on the action plan document</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 7: Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production.</td><td>Fairness</td><td>The TFP, with the support of a local organisation, is willing to establish connections between farmers and food catering services.</td><td>This action could enable farmers to receive a more stable and fairer remuneration than they would if they sold to supermarkets or at farmers' markets.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 7: Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production.</td><td>Connectivity</td><td>The TFP, with the support of a local organisation, is willing to establish connections between farmers and food catering services.</td><td>This action aims to develop a short food chain and a platform that enables farmers to respond to the food requirements of catering services. The farmers involved in the project come from the local area and are vegetable and fruit producers. This project could facilitate connections between the various stakeholders in the food system.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 7: Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production.</td><td>Participation</td><td>The TFP, with the support of a local organisation, is willing to establish connections between farmers and food catering services.</td><td>This action aims to develop a short food chain and a platform that enables farmers to respond to the food requirements of catering services. The farmers involved in the project come from the local area and are vegetable and fruit producers. This project could facilitate collaboration and participation between the various stakeholders in the food system with the aim of developing a local food chain.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 8: Improving and enhancing local food aid for vulnerable groups.</td><td>Social values and diets</td><td>The action aims to redistribute food to the most vulnerable people. Food workshops for vulnerable groups were also organised to fight food waste and promote balanced diets.</td><td>There is a food bank that distributes food across the agglomeration. The food bank collects surplus food mainly from supermarkets. However, when they have money, they also buy food from other shops.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Actions</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Action number and name</th><th>Agroecological principles</th><th>Based on the action plan document</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 9: Rolling out the youth food voucher scheme.</td><td>Social values and diets</td><td>Guarantee adequate nutrition and support young people in changing their eating habits.</td><td>This action was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 10: Raising awareness and mobilising citizens around the challenges of the TFP of the Carcassonne Agglomeration.</td><td>Social values and diets</td><td>Organise awareness-raising events at national or local events.</td><td>This action was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 10: Raising awareness and mobilising citizens around the challenges of the TFP of the Carcassonne Agglomeration.</td><td>Participation</td><td>Organise awareness-raising events at national or local events.</td><td>This action was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 11: Raising young people's awareness of agriculture and food</td><td>Social values and diets</td><td>Workshops have been organised concerning the fruit and vegetable consumption with children and parents, helping children to understand the link between food and health, helping them to discover seasonal and local food, and highlighting the initiatives of childcare facilities in relation to agriculture and food.</td><td>This action was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 11: Raising young people's awareness of agriculture and food.</td><td>Participation</td><td>Workshops have been organised concerning the fruit and vegetable consumption with children and parents, helping children to understand the link between food and health, helping them to discover seasonal and local food.</td><td>This action was not asked.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="3">Actions</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Action number and name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the action plan document</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td>food, and highlighting the initiatives of childcare facilities in relation to agriculture and food.</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Action 13: Supporting local agricultural events.</td><td>Economic diversification</td><td>This action supports farmers' production and income diversification.</td><td>This action was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 13: Supporting local agricultural events.</td><td>Fairness</td><td>This action supports farmers' production and income diversification.</td><td>This action was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 13: Supporting local agricultural events.</td><td>Participation</td><td>This action enables attracting tourists and the local community, while supporting these agricultural events.</td><td>This action was not asked.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 14: Managing the agricultural water scheme, managing the agricultural hydraulic unit (water reservoirs and hill reservoirs).</td><td>Land and natural resource governance</td><td>An analysis of available water resources has already been conducted, and water reservoirs will be developed.</td><td>This action allows storing water and managing water resources more effectively, considering the water scarcity condition that the agglomeration is facing.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 15: Setting up an Agro-Environmental and Climate Project (AECM).</td><td>Soil health</td><td>Maintain agricultural activity in Natura 2000 areas. Promote and develop good agro-ecological practices in Natura 2000 areas.</td><td>This action has led to the development of specific agro-environmental measures in areas with grassland and grazing animals, improving the soil health in the concerned area.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 15: Setting up an Agro-Environmental and Climate Project (AECM).</td><td>Biodiversity</td><td>Meeting the objectives of preserving biodiversity according to the challenges of each protected site. Maintaining agricultural activity in Natura 2000 areas. Promoting and developing good agro-ecological practices in Natura 2000 areas</td><td>This action has led to the development of some agro-environmental measures to support grassland diversification.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Actions</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Action number and name</th><th>Agroecological principles</th><th>Based on the action plan document</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Action 15: Setting up an Agro-Environmental and Climate Project (AECM).</td><td>Synergy</td><td>Maintaining agricultural activity in Natura 2000 areas. Promoting and developing good agro-ecological practices in Natura 2000 areas.</td><td>This action enables animals to graze in the Natura 2000 area, thereby establishing synergies with the surrounding agroecosystem.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 15: Setting up an Agro-Environmental and Climate Project (AECM).</td><td>Land and natural resource governance</td><td>Meeting the objectives of preserving biodiversity according to the challenges of each protected site. Maintaining agricultural activity in Natura 2000 areas. Promoting and developing good agro-ecological practices in Natura 2000 areas.</td><td>This action has allowed the development of better management of land and natural resources areas. Specifically, it has improved the grassland area in Natura 2000 zones.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 16: Drawing up and leading a vegetal plan (green plan).</td><td>Soil health</td><td>Facilitating the return of living soil.</td><td>This action is still in its early stage, but it has the ambition to develop a more resilient agglomeration in the face of the negative effects of climate change, which have already impacted the area. For instance, the action aims to de-waterproof some areas.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 16: Drawing up and leading a vegetal plan (green plan).</td><td>Biodiversity</td><td>Developing a greener agglomeration.</td><td>This action is still in its early stage, but it has the ambition to develop a more resilient agglomeration in the face of the negative effects of climate change, which have already impacted the area. For instance, one of the actions aims to introduce trees to support the biodiversity of species.</td></tr><tr><td>Action 16: Drawing up and leading a vegetal plan (green plan)</td><td>Land and natural resource governance</td><td>Supporting the de-waterproofing of the agglomeration.</td><td>This action is still in its early stage, but it has the ambition to develop a more resilient agglomeration in the face of the negative effects of climate change, which have already impacted the agglomeration area. For instance,</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th colspan="3">Actions</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="2">Action number and name</th><th rowspan="2">Agroecological principles</th><th colspan="2">Justification</th></tr><tr><th>Based on the action plan document</th><th>Based on interviews</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>the action aims to de-waterproof some areas. The action also plans to re-establish a water cycle within the agglomeration. However, this is still in the early stages.</td></tr></tbody></table>
APPENDIX 6 AGROECOLOGICAL SCORING GRID

<table><thead><tr><th rowspan="2">AE Principles (HLPE, 2019)</th><th rowspan="2">Definition according to Wezel et al. (2020)</th><th colspan="4">Indicator AE FS</th></tr><tr><th>1 Nothing</th><th>2 Understanding / plan</th><th>3 Evidence: few elements</th><th>4 Evidence: lots of elements</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1. Recycling</td><td>Preferentially use local renewable resources and close as far as possible resource cycles of nutrients and biomass</td><td>There are no recycling practices or waste management on the FS.</td><td>Understanding the importance of reusing and reintegrating resources and materials within the system, rather than discarding them entirely, and there is a plan to implement better practices.</td><td>Evidence of harnessing organic and mineral residues generated in agricultural production and other processes within the farm or production units.</td><td>Evidence of having most nutrients and energy cycles as closed ones.</td></tr><tr><td>2. Input reduction</td><td>Reduce or eliminate dependency on purchased inputs and increase self-sufficiency</td><td>There is a dependency on purchased inputs to reach production.</td><td>Understanding the damage purchased inputs can cause, and there is a plan to implement integrated pest, and disease and fertilization management practices.</td><td>Evidence of decreasing the use of purchased inputs such as chemical fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, and other agrochemical products.</td><td>Evidence of relying mostly on non-purchased inputs such as natural resources, and products of natural origins.</td></tr><tr><td>3. Soil health</td><td>Secure and enhance soil health and functioning for improved plant growth, particularly by managing organic matter and enhancing soil biological activity</td><td>Cultivated soils show erosion or compaction, loss of organic matter, nutritional imbalances, or low water retention capacity.</td><td>Understanding the importance of using fertilizers in a balanced way and soil-specific manner, avoiding over-fertilization and nutrient leaching, and there is a plan to implement better practices.</td><td>Evidence of incorporating organic matter into the soil through the application of compost, manure, green manures, and crop residues.</td><td>Evidence of implementing soil conservation practices such as planting cover crops, crop rotation, or maintaining adequate vegetative covers.</td></tr><tr><td>4. Animal health</td><td>Ensure animal health and welfare</td><td>Health and welfare of farm animals are not ensured. The animal breeding environment</td><td>Understanding the importance of ensuring farm animal health and welfare, and there is a plan to adapt the animal breeding</td><td>Evidence of a certain level of animal breeding environment adaptation to animal needs.</td><td>Evidence of a proper level of animal breeding environment</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th rowspan="2">AE Principles (HLPE, 2019)</th><th rowspan="2">Definition according to Wezel et al. (2020)</th><th colspan="4">Indicator AE FS</th></tr><tr><th>1 Nothing</th><th>2 Understanding / plan</th><th>3 Evidence: few elements</th><th>4 Evidence: lots of elements</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>5. Biodiversity</td><td>Maintain and enhance diversity of species, functional diversity and genetic resources, and thereby maintain overall agroecosystem biodiversity in time and space at field, farm and landscape scales</td><td>is not suitable for the animal's needs.<br/>Different living organisms in interaction are not observed, and monoculture predominates.</td><td>environment to animal needs (not otherwise).<br/>Understanding the importance of having multi-specific systems to integrate animals, and there is a plan to diversify production.</td><td>Evidence of cultivating at least two plant species, and of a few interactions with other living organisms.</td><td>adaptation to animal needs.<br/>Evidence of cultivating a wide variety of crops and many interactions with other living organisms.</td></tr><tr><td>6. Synergy</td><td>Enhance positive ecological interaction, synergy, integration and complementarity amongst the elements of agroecosystems (people, animals, crops, trees, soil and water)</td><td>There is no interaction and cooperation among different components of the FS.</td><td>Understanding the FS local context: biological, physical, economic, and social factors which affect it, and there is a plan for improving interaction and cooperation among different components of the FS.</td><td>Evidence of a few interactions and cooperation among different components of the FS.</td><td>Evidence of lots of interactions and cooperation among different components of the FS. It creates beneficial effects, which could not be achieved if the components acted independently.</td></tr><tr><td>7. Economic diversification</td><td>Diversify on-farm incomes by ensuring that small-scale farmers have greater financial independence and value addition opportunities while enabling them to respond to demand from consumers</td><td>Dependence on agricultural productions as the only way of generating an income.</td><td>Understanding the FS economic context: local and regional markets, product demand, supply chain costs, and government policies related to agriculture, and there is a plan to implement better practices.</td><td>Evidence of integrating a few agricultural, agro-industrial, or commercial activities, which complement the primary production and generate additional income for farmers.</td><td>Evidence of integrating various agricultural, agro-industrial, or commercial activities, which complement the primary production and generate additional income for farmers.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th rowspan="2">AE Principles (HLPE, 2019)</th><th rowspan="2">Definition according to Wezel et al. (2020)</th><th colspan="4">Indicator AE FS</th></tr><tr><th>1 Nothing</th><th>2 Understanding / plan</th><th>3 Evidence: few elements</th><th>4 Evidence: lots of elements</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>8. Co-creation of knowledge</td><td>Enhance co-creation and horizontal sharing of knowledge, including local and scientific innovation, especially through farmer-to-farmer exchange</td><td>There is no communication and processes of co-creation and horizontal sharing of knowledge between the FS stakeholders.</td><td>Understanding the importance of farmers working together in a collaborative process along with other stakeholders such as scientists, institutions or local communities, in order to: generate, share, and apply knowledge related to sustainable FS, and there is a plan to implement better practices.</td><td>Evidence of a few stakeholders involved in the FS activities working collaboratively, along with scientists, institutions or local communities, in order to: generate, share, and apply knowledge related to sustainable FS.</td><td>Evidence of most stakeholders involved in the FS activities working collaboratively, along with scientists, institutions or local communities, to: generate, share, and apply knowledge related to sustainable FS.</td></tr><tr><td>9. Social values and diets</td><td>Build food systems based on the culture, identity, tradition, social and gender equity of local communities that provide healthy, diversified, seasonally and culturally appropriate diets</td><td>The FS only responds to economic interests and does not consider the socio-cultural components.</td><td>Understanding the importance of enhancing local traditional knowledge for the conservation of native seeds, to support commercialization of locally sourced products based on the culture, identity, traditions, social and gender equity of local communities, and there is a plan to implement better practices. The territory/farm is willing to improve the quality of diets by introducing a higher amount of quality and organic food in the food consumption space.</td><td>Evidence of a few initiatives to enhance local traditional knowledge for the conservation of native seeds, to support the commercialization of locally sourced products based on the cultural identity, traditions, social and gender equity of local communities.</td><td>Evidence of lots of initiatives proving that beliefs, cultural norms, and society's dietary preferences influence agricultural practices, crop selection, and food production/retailing.</td></tr><tr><td>10. Fairness</td><td>Support dignified and robust livelihoods for all stakeholders engaged in food systems, especially small-scale food producers, based on fair trade, fair</td><td>The system is based on food production for commercialisation and does not include a fairness policy, nor does</td><td>Understanding processes of fair trade, fair employment and fair treatment of intellectual property rights in the FS, and there is a</td><td>Evidence of empowering some stakeholders to have a voice in shaping agricultural policies and practices, following ethical considerations such as</td><td>Evidence of empowering most stakeholders to have a voice in shaping agricultural policies</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th rowspan="2">AE Principles (HLPE, 2019)</th><th rowspan="2">Definition according to Wezel et al. (2020)</th><th colspan="4">Indicator AE FS</th></tr><tr><th>1 Nothing</th><th>2 Understanding / plan</th><th>3 Evidence: few elements</th><th>4 Evidence: lots of elements</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td>employment and fair treatment of intellectual property rights</td><td>it considers the well-being of the stakeholders involved in the FS.</td><td>plan to implement better practices.</td><td>transparency, accountability, and participatory decision-making processes.</td><td>and practices, following ethical considerations such as transparency, accountability, and participatory decision-making processes. There are more equitable distributions of resources, opportunities, and benefits among all stakeholders involved in FS.</td></tr><tr><td>11. Connectivity</td><td>Ensure proximity and confidence between producers and consumers through promotion of fair and short distribution networks and by re-embedding food systems into local economies</td><td>Absence of communication channels or lack of exchange networks among the FS different stakeholders.</td><td>Understanding the importance of interconnectedness and interactions between different components, elements, and stakeholders within the FS, and there is a plan to implement better practices.</td><td>Evidence of a few relationships, and noticeable flows of energy, nutrients, species and information, on different levels, from the farm level to the broader ecosystem and the landscape level.</td><td>Evidence of lots of relationships, and noticeable flows of energy, nutrients, species and information, on different levels, from the farm level to the broader ecosystem and the landscape level.</td></tr><tr><td>12. Land and natural resource governance</td><td>Strengthen institutional arrangements to improve, including the recognition and support of family farmers, smallholders and peasant food</td><td>Absence of effective policies and governance mechanisms that promote sustainable and equitable</td><td>Understanding the importance of territorial local governance to manage allocation, and regulation of territorial biodiversity and natural resources within the context of</td><td>Evidence of institutional and non-institutional territorial local governance to manage allocation, and regulation of the territory's biodiversity and natural resources,</td><td>Evidence of established policies, institutions, and mechanisms to ensure the equitable and sustainable use</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th rowspan="2">AE Principles (HLPE, 2019)</th><th rowspan="2">Definition according to Wezel et al. (2020)</th><th colspan="4">Indicator AE FS</th></tr><tr><th>1 Nothing</th><th>2 Understanding / plan</th><th>3 Evidence: few elements</th><th>4 Evidence: lots of elements</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td>producers as sustainable managers of natural and genetic resources</td><td>management of natural resources</td><td>sustainable FS, and there is a plan to implement better practices.</td><td>within the context of sustainable FS.</td><td>of resources while safeguarding ecological integrity, promoting social justice, and enhancing food security.</td></tr><tr><td>13. Participation</td><td>Encourage social organisation and greater participation in decision-making by food producers and consumers to support decentralised governance and local adaptive management of agricultural and food systems</td><td>The stakeholders are isolated because the FS is centralized to a few monopolies regulating market supplies and demand dynamics.</td><td>Understanding the importance of raising awareness on participation strategies and planning social organization, and there is a plan to implement better practices.</td><td>Evidence of some social participation initiatives, which have had an impact and, with sufficient support, can be sustained over time.</td><td>Evidence of active involvement, engagement, and empowerment of various stakeholders in decision-making, planning, implementation, and monitoring of FS.</td></tr></tbody></table>
APPENDIX 7 INITIATIVE ADVANCEMENT AND
AGROECOLOGICAL LEVEL

<table><thead><tr><td>Agroecological principles</td><td>Description of the initiative (from the diagnosis report)</td><td>Advancement level</td><td>Agroecological level</td><td>W score</td><td>Asked question</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="3">Recycling</td><td>Use of the rice husk for the beer production (the rice is produced in the agglomeration, and the beer is also brewed locally).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards (control of canopy cover in wine-growing, firefighting, opening up of environments, closing of nutrient cycles, etc.).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5.94</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3">Input reduction</td><td>Cultivation of the cover crops with the collaboration of the TFP and the Agricultural High School of Carcassonne.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards (control of canopy cover in wine-growing, firefighting, opening up of environments, closing of nutrient cycles, etc.).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5.94</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3">Soil health</td><td>Cultivation of the cover crops with the collaboration of the TFP and the Agricultural High School of Carcassonne.</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards (control of canopy cover in wine-growing, firefighting, opening up of environments, closing of nutrient cycles, etc.).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>6.27</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">Animal health</td><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards (control of canopy cover in wine-growing, firefighting, opening up of environments, closing of nutrient cycles, etc.).</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Biodiversity</td><td>Cultivation of the cover crops with the collaboration of the TFP and the Agricultural High School of Carcassonne.</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>Rice and vineyard cultivation growing nearby.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Simultaneous cultivation of vineyards for export, olive trees and truffles.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Simultaneous cultivation of vineyard and olive trees.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Introduction of fruits such as almonds, pistachios and pomegranates (improving the economic resilience of the farm, adapting to climate change, seeking higher value-added production).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5.8</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Sinergy</td><td>Grazing of animals in vineyards (control of canopy cover in wine-growing, firefighting, opening up of environments, closing of nutrient cycles, etc.).</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>An extensive grazing system, allowing a fire control, the opening up of environments and the closing of nutrient cycles.</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="8">Economic diversification</td><td>Short local food chains have developed in the agglomeration in the last ten years or so.</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>The Pays Cathare label is a way of promoting the local produce of the area (although it is not a label reserved only for the agglomeration, but used for the whole of the Aude department).</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Introduction of fruits such as almonds, pistachios and pomegranates (improving the economic resilience of the farm, adapting to climate change, seeking higher value-added production).</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Vegetable and fruit food fairs, farmers' markets.</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Percentage of farms involved in the labelling of quality and origin.</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Most of the wine produced by certain cooperatives is sold in bulk to wholesalers, although the cooperative does have two sales cellars. The majority of the wine produced is PGI and HVE certified, and a minority is PDO.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Cultivation of vineyards for export, olive trees and truffles. Olives are processed into oil by a cooperative and into table olives by the Domaine des Pères.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Cultivation of wine and olive trees, the oil is processed on site; meanwhile, the part that is not processed on the farms is given to the cooperative. This allows for revenue diversification.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>6.76</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Co-creation of knowledge</td><td>Organising numerous meetings on different subjects, open to everyone, to discuss and co-create new knowledge on the food system of the Carcassonne agglomeration.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>X</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td rowspan="2">Social values and diets</td><td>At the national level, the Egalim law has been established, and canteens should have 50% of quality-certified food, while 20% should be organic.</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>The Pays Cathare label supports the local and traditional food production of the agglomeration (and of the department)</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>6.5</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3">Fairness</td><td>Short local food chains have developed in the agglomeration in the last ten years or so.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Solidarity purchasing groups (with a focus on organic farming and organised mainly in the town of Carcassonne).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Vegetable and fruit food fairs, farmers' markets.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5.94</td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="6">Connectivity</td><td>Short local food chains have developed in the agglomeration in the last ten years or so.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Solidarity purchasing groups (with a focus on organic farming and organised mainly in the town of Carcassonne).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Vegetable and fruit food fairs, farmers' markets.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Pays Cathare label supports the local and traditional food production of the agglomeration (and of the department) reinforcing the relationship between producers and consumers.</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Graines Equitables, a food cooperative located in the agglomeration, is transforming and selling its production both at the agglomeration level and at the national level; enhancing the relationships with consumers when selling products at the local level.</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>There are several small food-processing facilities in the agglomeration, supporting local food transformation.</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">Land and natural resource governance</td><td>The use of the rice husk allows for the reinforcement of the relationship between the farmer and the beer producers, while reducing the waste and recycling the resources.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>6.58</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Water catchments for monitoring water quality.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">Participation</td><td>93 farms received AECM aid to reduce or even eliminate the use of pesticides and thus limit the impact on water resources.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Partnership with local partners such as the Chamber of Agriculture, Biocivam, Maison Paysanne de l'Aude (Farmers' house of Aude), the Agricultural High School of Carcassonne and citizens.</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>8</td><td>X</td></tr></table>
APPENDIX 8 ACTION ADVANCEMENT AND AGROECOLOGICAL LEVELS

<table><thead><tr><td>Agroecological principles</td><td>Action name</td><td>Advancement level</td><td>Agroecological level</td><td>W score</td><td>Asked question</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Recycling</td><td>Action 4. Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats (study of the creation of a reservoir, of the old well on the Domaine, revalorisation of rainwater, revalorisation of dry land via a study by the Chamber of Agriculture).</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">Input reduction</td><td>Action 4. Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats (study of the creation of a reservoir, of the old well on the Domaine, revalorisation of rainwater, revalorisation of dry land via a study by the Chamber of Agriculture).</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 5. Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the region.</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3">Soil health</td><td>Action 4. Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine Rougeats (improving soil quality).</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 15. Setting up an Agro-Environmental and Climate Project (AECM) (Maintain agricultural activity in Natura 2000 areas, Promote and develop good agro-ecological practices in Natura 2000 areas).</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 16. Drawing up and leading a vegetal plan (green plan) (Facilitating the return of living soil).</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>6.27</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Animal health</td><td>Action 4. Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats (animal grazing).</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">Biodiversity</td><td>Action 4. Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats (to reduce the risk of fire and for agricultural use): manage the forest on the Domaine sustainably and protect areas and habitats with high biodiversity values, have an agricultural area and an area for grazing.</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 5. Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration (Develop minority production to create a truly coherent food offer in the agglomeration and sustainably integrate new production).</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>Action 15. Setting up an Agro-Environmental and Climate Project (AECM) (meet the objectives of preserving biodiversity according to the challenges of each protected site, maintain agricultural activity in Natura 2000 areas, promote and develop good agro-ecological practices in Natura 2000 areas).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Action 16. Drawing up and leading a vegetal plan (green plan).</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>5.75</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Sinergy</td><td>Action 4. Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats (to reduce the risk of fire and for agricultural use, with grazing and water storage to combat fires).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Action 15. Setting up an Agro-Environmental and Climate Project (AECM) (Maintain agricultural activity in Natura 2000 areas, Promote and develop good agro-ecological practices in Natura 2000 areas).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">Economic diversification</td><td>Action 5. Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration: they will be working on marketing through short and local food chains and on developing and structuring the supply chain from production through selling.</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 13. Supporting local agricultural events.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">Co-creation of knowledge</td><td>Action 5. Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the region.</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 7. Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production (links between producers and the catering industry).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5.5</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3">Social values and diets</td><td>Action 6. Supporting and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 7. Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production.</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 8. Improving and enhancing local food aid for vulnerable groups: promoting and supporting local production and organising food workshops for vulnerable groups (to</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td></td><td>X</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>combat waste, food hygiene and a balanced diet).</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Action 9. Rolling out the youth food voucher scheme: guarantee adequate nutrition and support young people in changing their eating habits.</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Action 10. Raising awareness and mobilise citizens around the challenges of the TFP of the Carcassonne Agglomeration: Organise awareness-raising events at national or local events.</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Action 11. Raising young people's awareness of agriculture and food (Using an educational approach for the fruit and vegetables consumption with children and parents, helping children to understand the link between food and health, helping them to discover seasonal and local food, highlighting the initiatives of childcare facilities in relation to agriculture and food).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5.44</td></tr><tr><td>Fairness</td><td>Action 7. Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production (links between producers and the catering industry).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Action 13. Supporting local agricultural events.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Connectivity</td><td>Action 5. Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration: they will work to create links between agricultural players within the same sector.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Action 7. Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production (links between producers and the catering industry).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4">Land and natural resource governance</td><td>Action 1. Creating a collective dynamic to facilitate the setting up of farms in the area (water study on the areas).</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Action 2. Setting up an Agricultural Test Area.</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Action 3. Helping local authorities to monitor and acquire agricultural land</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Action 4. Rehabilitating and enhancing the Domaine des Rougeats (to reduce the risk of fire and for agricultural use): Create a dual-use water reserve for combating fires and for agricultural use.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>Action 6. Supporting and developing an innovative local agricultural chain.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Action 14. Managing the agricultural water scheme, managing the agricultural hydraulic unit (water reservoirs and hill reservoirs).</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Action 15. Setting up an Agro-Environmental and Climate Project (AECM) (meet the objectives of preserving biodiversity according to the challenges of each protected site, maintain agricultural activity in Natura 2000 areas, promote and develop good agro-ecological practices in Natura 2000 areas).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Action 16. Drawing up and managing a vegetal plan (green plan).</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>5.85</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="5">Participation</td><td>Action 1. Creating a collective dynamic to facilitate the setting up of farms in the area (access to land, generational renewal, etc.).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 5. Encouraging and developing agricultural diversification in the agglomeration: Technical forum on agricultural diversification.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 7. Supporting the catering industry in sourcing quality, organic and local production.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 10. Raising awareness and mobilising citizens around the challenges of the TFP of the Carcassonne Agglomeration.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td>Action 11. Raising young people's awareness of agriculture and food (Using an educational approach for the fruit and vegetables consumption with children and parents, helping children to understand the link between nutrition and health, helping them to discover seasonal and local food, and highlighting the initiatives of childcare facilities about agriculture and food).</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>X</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Action 13. Supporting local agricultural events.</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>6.12</td></tr></table>