# Land access facilitation by local governments. Towards a political commoning?

Sarah Steffan, Mikael Akimowicz, Geoffroy Labrouche

► To cite this version:

Sarah Steffan, Mikael Akimowicz, Geoffroy Labrouche. Land access facilitation by local governments. Towards a political commoning?. EAAE Congress, Aug 2025, Bonn, Germany., 2025. hal-05281688

HAL Id: hal-05281688

https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05281688v1

Submitted on 24 Sep 2025

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# Land access facilitation by local governments. Towards a political commoning?

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Sarah Steffan, LEREPS - IEP Toulouse - ENFSEA, sarah.steffan@orange.fr

Mikaël Akimowicz, LEREPS - IEP Toulouse - Université de Toulouse, mikael.akimowicz@iut-tlse3.fr

Geoffroy Labrouche, LEREPS - IEP Toulouse - Université de Toulouse Jean Jaurès, geoffroy.labrouche@univ-tlse2.fr

## CONTEXT

* Domination of a productivist vision while food insecurity continues to grow in France (Stassart et al., 2012).

* Farm expansion, mechanization and specialization take place at the expense of environmental and health safety (Gueringer, 2023).

* Decreasing in farmers' remuneration and increasing consumers' food expenditure (Dissaux et Alliot, 2024).

How can local authorities contribute to the creation and restoration of commons to promote a sustainable food system that ensures food security as well as health and environmental safety?

## CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Commons are essentials for agricultural production (water resources, pastoral areas, collective tools, biodiversity,...).

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Their integration into food system governance contributes to improving the interdependence of human, animal and ecosystem health. Public policies have changed their governance and perception (Duru, 2021).

Commons governance is essential for their development (Vatn, 2010)-e.g.: farmland preservation and farm start support policies, collective management of material resources, local distribution of agricultural products, awareness of local food.

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Communities provide opportunities solutions for the sustainability of the commons (Ostrom, 1990). In the agroecological transition, communities are framed by shared constructs, collective actions and bonding feelings (Christiansen et al., 2025).

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Local authorities have capacities to foster the consolidation of communities that may strengthen commons thanks to their presence in the area and their role in policy-making (Weinstein, 2013).

## HYPOTHESES

* Sustainability of the food system thanks to local authorities.

* Local and sustainable food with the creation of commons tools.

* Community support for sustainable agriculture and food system.

## METHODS

1. Selection of 5 projects in the Gers Department

2. 14 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders

3. Thematic analysis to test the three assumptions

## RESULTS

### Commons

**Food supply:**
Supply and processing chain between producers and consumers

**Preservation of agriculture:**
Preservation of agriculture land for the farm start or transmission

### Governance

**Means used:**
Financial, technical and administrative support for sustainability of projects

**Cooperation between stakeholders:**
Bringing together all stakeholders with a shared vision to drive projects forward

### Communities

**Shared constructs:**
Strong will to relocate food production and maintain the agricultural sector

**Actions and feelings:**
Feeling of belonging to the agricultural world and the local communities

### Purpose

**Changes in practices:**
Use of local food products from resilient and healthy production practices

**Food and environmental security:**
Produce enough while improving food quality and the biodiversity

## CONCLUSION

The implementation of joint tool projects by local authorities allows all stakeholders to be involved, taking into account the needs of each and thus ensuring the acceptance of the projects

These joint tools enable the transition to a resilient, local and sustainable food system

Communities integrate these tools and ensure their sustainability

## AMMO BAR

Department of Gers

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* 71 % of department for agricultural area

* 4th department for agricultural employment

* 1st department in Occitanie for biological agriculture

### Some definitions...

**Common goods:** Resources that are accessible to all, non-exclusive but potentially rivalrous in the event of overuse.

**Agroecological transition:** Transforming the agricultural model towards agroecological practices to respond to crises in the sector.

**Community:** A social group characterised by shared beliefs, collective actions and feelings of belonging, where members share values, resources and a common identity.