A Complete Guide for Agricultural Cooperatives
Climate change has become an inescapable reality for all economic sectors, and agriculture is no exception. In France, the agricultural sector accounts for almost 20% of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a situation that calls for rapid and effective adaptation to reduce this footprint and adapt to new climatic conditions. Farmers are therefore at the heart of this ecological transition, having to reconcile agricultural production with environmental imperatives.
Agricultural cooperatives, as organizations that bring together and represent farmers, have a decisive role to play in this transition. They are not only intermediaries, but also players on the ground capable of mobilizing the resources needed to help farms adapt to climate change. This article looks in detail at the support plan for farmers set up by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, in collaboration with ADEME. This plan, detailed in a recently published support document, is essential to guide cooperatives in implementing concrete and effective actions within their territories.
Context and Importance of Accompaniment
In the face of the climate emergency, it is becoming crucial to implement strategies that not only reduce GHG emissions from the agricultural sector, but also increase the resilience of farms in the face of climatic impacts such as droughts, floods and heat waves. The aid document drawn up by the French authorities proposes a measure structured around two main strands: individualized support and collective approaches. These two strands are designed to be complementary, offering both local and territorial coverage for climate transition.
Agricultural cooperatives are particularly well placed to coordinate these efforts, due to their ability to bring farmers together and promote collective actions that can maximize the effectiveness of interventions. In addition, as privileged intermediaries, they can facilitate farms' access to the resources needed to implement more sustainable farming practices.
Article update
Readers are reminded that this call for projects closed in September 2024, as explained at the end of this article.
CONTENTS
1. Individualized support for climate and soil action
Simplified support
In-depth support
a) Low-carbon support
b) Adaptation support
c) Soil health and climate support
2. Climate and Soil Collective Initiatives
Territorial diagnosis
Support for taking action
Selection criteria for collective projects
Commitment and Reporting
1. Individualized support for Climate and Soil Action
Individualized support is the first component of this strategy, aimed at providing farmers with support tailored to the specific needs of their farms.
Simplified support
The aim of this simplified support program is to raise farmers' awareness of the challenges of climate change, while providing them with an initial assessment of their farm's situation. The course, designed to be accessible, can be run as a group or individually, depending on participants' needs.
Main objective:
The aim is to introduce farmers to the concepts of GHG emissions mitigation, climate change adaptation and soil health. These three themes are crucial to preparing farms for climate challenges.
Format and duration :
Support can take the form of group workshops or individual sessions, generally over a full day or two half-days. This flexibility enables us to reach a large number of farmers, while taking into account their availability.
Support content :
- Raising awareness: The advisors begin with a presentation of the climatic issues specific to the region, emphasizing the importance of soil health for farm resilience.
- Simplified diagnosis: An initial diagnosis is then carried out to assess the current state of the farm in terms of GHG emissions and farming practices. This diagnosis is used to identify the first levers for action.
- Levers for action: Following the diagnosis, personalized levers for action are proposed to farmers, who leave with a document summarizing the results and the actions to be considered.
This simplified approach is a gateway to more sustainable practices, offering farmers an initial vision of possible improvements. It is designed to be as straightforward as possible, in terms of both time and resources, while offering high-quality support.
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In-depth support
For farms wishing to go further, the plan offers three types of in-depth support, each targeting a specific but interconnected dimension of soil and climate management.
a) Low-carbon support
Objective:
Carry out a detailed diagnosis of the farm's GHG emissions and carbon storage potential. This includes building a five-year action plan to reduce emissions and increase carbon storage.
Process :
This module requires around three days for diagnosis and preparation of the action plan, followed by two days of follow-up to ensure that the recommendations are implemented. Advisors work closely with the farmer to adjust strategies over time, ensuring continuous adaptation to new climatic constraints.
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b) Accompaniment Adaptation
Objective:
Assess the farm's vulnerability to climate risks and draw up an action plan to strengthen its resilience over the long term.
Process :
As with the Low Carbon module, this diagnosis takes around three days, accompanied by two days of follow-up.
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c) Soil health and climate support
Objective:
In-depth diagnosis of the farm's soil health, covering aspects such as fertility, structure, organic matter and resilience to climate change.
Process :
This module includes laboratory analyses, a complete diagnosis of soil conditions, and the implementation of a five-year action plan. It requires three days for diagnosis and an additional day for follow-up. The emphasis is on continuous improvement of farming practices, based on accurate data and reliable indicators.
Each of these modules is designed to offer personalized support, with clear, measurable objectives. Farmers thus benefit from ongoing support, enabling them to monitor progress and adjust practices according to the results obtained.
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2. Climate and Soil Collective Initiatives
In addition to individualized support, the document also proposes collective approaches designed to mobilize all players in a given region or sector around common climate transition objectives. These approaches are particularly well suited to cooperatives, which can play a coordinating role between the various partners.
Territorial diagnosis
The first step in any collective approach is to carry out a territorial diagnosis, which enables us to assess the climatic challenges facing a given territory. This diagnosis, which can be carried out using specific tools such as ClimAgri®, aims to identify weaknesses and opportunities for the agricultural climate transition.
Objective:
Provide an overview of climate impacts on a territory and determine the actions needed to mitigate them.
Methodology :
The territorial diagnosis includes an analysis of local agricultural production, an assessment of climatic risks specific to the region, and an identification of means of adaptation. The results of this diagnosis serve as the basis for drawing up a territorial action plan.
Support for taking action
Once the territorial diagnosis has been carried out, the next step is to support the farmers' transition to action. This phase is crucial to ensure that the action plans drawn up do not remain theoretical documents, but are translated into concrete actions on the ground.
Coordination and Synergy :
Cooperatives play a central role in this phase, ensuring coordination between the various structures working with farmers (chambers of agriculture, management centers, banks, etc.). They ensure that actions are coherent and complementary, avoiding redundancy and antagonism.
Individual coaching :
As part of the collective approach, it is essential to maintain individualized follow-up of farmers. The action plans drawn up during individual support must be integrated into the overall strategy of the collective approach, thus providing a coherent overall vision.
Capitalizing on results :
One of the aims of collective approaches is to capitalize on the results obtained, by sharing best practices and disseminating feedback. This enables us to continually improve the methods we use and enhance the effectiveness of our interventions.
Selection Criteria for Group Projects
Collective projects must meet a number of criteria to be selected for support by ADEME and the French Ministry of Agriculture.
Local interest :
Projects must be consistent with local and regional policies, such as regional COPs or PCAETs.
Environmental and Economic Ambition :
Projects must demonstrate their ability to generate sustainable benefits, both for farmers and for the region as a whole. This includes reducing GHG emissions, improving climate resilience, and preserving soil health.
Collaborative character :
The success of collective approaches depends on the involvement of multiple partners, with clear governance and a balanced distribution of responsibilities.
Commitment and Reporting
Agricultural cooperatives and other structures selected to carry out these projects must undertake to comply with data collection and reporting obligations. These obligations are designed to ensure rigorous monitoring of the actions implemented and to facilitate evaluation of their effectiveness.
Data Collection :
Structures must collect precise data on the farms taking part in the project, particularly with regard to the diagnostics carried out, the actions implemented and the results obtained.
Regular reporting :
A quarterly report must be submitted to ADEME and the French Ministry of Agriculture, detailing project progress, challenges encountered, and any necessary adjustments. This reporting ensures total transparency and guarantees that the objectives set are achieved.
Results sharing :
Cooperatives are encouraged to participate in platforms for sharing best practices, and to collaborate with other structures to disseminate the results obtained. This contributes to the continuous improvement of support strategies and collective skills development.
3. Conclusion
Supporting farmers in the face of climate change is a major challenge for agricultural cooperatives. This document provides a clear and detailed framework for structuring individual and collective actions to maximize their impact. By adopting a proactive and collaborative approach, cooperatives can play a decisive role in the ecological transition of the agricultural sector.
Cooperatives must not only understand these minimum requirements, but also integrate them strategically into their projects, mobilizing all the resources at their disposal to support farmers in this period of transition. The success of these initiatives depends on the ability to combine local action with a global vision, taking advantage of the complementary nature of individualized support and collective approaches.
MyEasyFarm, through MyEasyCarbon and MyEasySpheres, provides solutions for all these measures.
Our solutions are compatible with the GHG Protocol and SBTi FLAG, in addition to the Label Bas Carbone certification for the MyEasyCarbon tool.
Please note that the call for projects is open until September 11, 2024 at 4pm (Paris time).
