Breaking the ‘change of scale’ stalemate

Auteurs

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.19182/perspective/37911

Mots-clés


Scaling-up, impact, innovation, food system, Milan Pact, Montpellier Process, do-it-yourself, territorial approaches

Couverture

Brazil, Massaroca, France, Montpellier

Résumé

Version française de l'article

Looking for large-scale impact is a legitimate ambition of policymakers and funding agencies; this calls for moving beyond the local impact of innovations and development projects designed to transform food systems. Yet, experience over the past 30 years has shown that impact at scale does not always live up to expectations. It reveals how intermediate territorial levels matter to link local innovation and solutions to global challenges. The intermediate level is either not thought about at all, or poorly thought through; it is the missing link where the ‘contamination’ or spread of ideas and ‘bricolage’ take place, where cobbling together of territory-based solutions is designed and implemented. This is the only way to ensure that innovations are consistent with development challenges and have an impact at scale. 

Biographie de l'auteur

Patrick Caron

Patrick Caron is a CIRAD researcher specializing in farming systems and territorial dynamics, with a special focus on livestock farming in Brazil, Southern Africa and the Near East. Involved in various national and international scientific and institutional bodies, Patrick Caron has been appointed as the Chair of the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in November 2015, a position that he occupied until October 2019. He is currently President of Agropolis International and Chairman of the CGIAR Integrated Partnership Board.

With contributions from Sélim Louafi (CIRAD), Fabrice DeClerck (EAT Foundation, Alliance Bioversity & CIAT - CGIAR), Amada Harding (Convene), Ellie Daguet (CIRAD)

Références

References and other links

Publications:

Caron P., 2025. A renewed interest in controversies. Nature Food, 6 : 121-122. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01120-3

Caron P., Ferrero de Loma-Osorio G., Ferroni M., Lehmann B., Mettenleiter T. C., Sokona Y., 2022. Global food security: pool collective intelligence. Nature, 612 (7941), p. 631 https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-04471-0

Caron P., 2022. Leurre du changement d'échelle : polarisations et difficile orchestration des transitions. In : Sciences, techniques et agricultures : gouverner pour transformer. Goulet Frédéric (ed.), Caron Patrick (ed.), Hubert Bernard (ed.), Joly, Pierre-Benoît (ed.). Paris : Presses des Mines, 115-123. (Sciences sociales) ISBN 978-2-35671-845-7

Caron Patrick. 2021. Confrontation des modèles : la coexistence pour naviguer entre naïveté du consensus et violence de la polarisation. In : Coexistence et confrontation des modèles agricoles et alimentaires. Un nouveau paradigme du développement territorial ? Gasselin (ed.), Lardon (ed.), Cerdan (ed.), Loudiyi (ed.), Sautier (ed.). Versailles : Ed. Quae, 367-378. (Nature et société) ISBN 978-2-7592-3242-0

Caron Patrick (ed.), Valette Elodie (ed.), Wassenaar Tom (ed.), Coppens D'Eeckenbrugge Geo (ed.), Papazian Vatché (ed.). 2017. Des territoires vivants pour transformer le monde.. Versailles : Ed. Quae, 279 p. (Agricultures et défis du monde) ISBN 978-2-7592-2654-2

Caron P., 2011. Ré-concilier agricultures et sociétés : dévoiler les territoires et repenser les limites. Nanterre : Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, 3 vol. (39, 254, 242 p.). Habilitation à diriger des recherches.

Caron P., 2008. Niveaux d'organisation et horizons temporels multiples pour lire les flexibilités et les plasticités des systèmes d'élevage : le cas du Nordeste du Brésil. In L'élevage en mouvement : flexibilité et adaptation des exploitations d'herbivores. - Versailles : Ed. Quae. p. 197-209.

Caron P., 1998. Espaces, élevage et dynamique du changement : analyse, niveaux d'organisation et action. Le cas du Nordeste semi-aride du Brésil, Thèse, Université de Paris-Nanterre, Ecole doctorale d'étude des sociétés géographie et pratiques du développement dans le tiers monde, CIRAD-TERA: 396 p.

Hainzelin E., Caron P., Place F., Alpha A., Dury S., Echeverria R., Harding A., 2023. How could science–policy interfaces boost food system transformation? In : Science and innovations for food systems transformation. Von Braun Joachim (ed.), Afsana Kaosar (ed.), Fresco Louise O. (ed.), Hassan Mohamed Hag Ali (ed.). Cham : Springer, 877-891. ISBN 978-3-031-15702-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15703-5_47

Sabourin E., Tonneau J.-P ., Caron P., 1996. Seu Néné, leader paysan à Massaroca (Bahia, Brésil) : une trajectoire nordestine. Bulletin de l'APAD (11) : 102-107. APAD International Conference, Stuttgart, Germany, 5 June 1996/8 June 1996.

Sabourin E., Caron P., Gama Da Silva P. C. 2001. Trois expériences de planification municipale. . In : Paysans du sertao : mutations des agricultures familiales dans le Nordeste du Brésil. Caron (ed.), Sabourin (ed.). Montpellier : CIRAD, 191-202. (Repères) ISBN 2-87614-449-2

Sachsé V., Caron P., Hubert B., Rebelle B., 2025. Manger ensemble pour refaire le monde ? Presses Universitaires de Rennes. In press.

Tonneau J.-P., Clouet Y., Caron P., 1997. L'agriculture familiale au Nordeste (Brésil). Une recherche par analyses spatiales. Natures Sciences Sociétés, 5 (3) : 39-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1240-1307(97)81524-5

Find out more:

Bricas N., Douillet M., 2021. Les initiatives Citoyennes et leur changement d’échelle. In : Une écologie de l’alimentation. Bricas, Conaré, Walser (dir), Versailles, éditions Quæ, 251-262. DOI : 10.35690/978-2-7592-3353-3

Cleaver F., 2017. Development Through Bricolage. Rethinking Institutions for Natural Resource Management. Edition1st, 240 p. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315094915

Coe R., Sinclair F., Barrios E., 2014. Scaling up agroforestry requires research ‘in’ rather than ‘for’ development. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2014, 6:73–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2013.10.013

Conaré D., Bricas N., 2021. Prendre ses distances avec le local. In : Une écologie de l’alimentation. Bricas, Conaré, Walser (dir), Versailles, éditions Quæ, 225-236. DOI: 10.35690/978-2-7592-3353-3

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Lahlou, S., Nowotny, H., Yamin, P., Thurner, S., & Cordelois, A. (2024). The Food Socioscope: a new instrument to better understand transitions towards greater sustainability. In Proceedings of the Paris Institute for Advanced Study (Vol. 22). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13935390

Processus de Montpellier: https://sites.google.com/view/montpellierprocess/home

Siniscalchi V., 2025. Mobilisations et "alternatives" économiques : la nourriture comme objet politique. In : Sachsé V., Caron P., Hubert B., Rebelle B., 2025. Manger ensemble pour refaire le monde ? Presses Universitaires de Rennes. In press.

Stein A. J., Santini F., 2022. The sustainability of "local" food: a review for policy-makers. Rev Agric Food Environ Stud. 103(1):77-89. doi: 10.1007/s41130-021-00148-w. Epub 2021 May 25. PMID: 38624674; PMCID: PMC8147589.

Tonneau J.-P., 1994. Modernisation et paysanneries. Le cas du Brésil Nordeste. Geography PhD thesis, Université Paris X, 297 p.

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Publié

2025-07-22

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Caron, P. (2025). Breaking the ‘change of scale’ stalemate. Perspective, (65), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.19182/perspective/37911