Collectively foreseeing future issues: Prospective strategy contributes to the Agriculture and Food Systems' ‘Futures Studies’ Club

Abstract

The Agriculture and Food Systems' ‘Futures Studies’ Club, created in 1995 and spearheaded by BASF Agro France is in its 15th year. The Club has become a regular meeting place for the players of the agricultural and agri-food systems from the farmer to the consumer and a place to debate about their societal issues. It has addressed a dozen subjects of futures studies since it was created in 1995. BASF Agro France and the Club's members, mainly the company's clients, aim to understand and anticipate the changes that might in the future affect the agricultural world and the players of the agribusiness sector: suppliers, distributors, agri-food business, and retailers. To that end, free dialogue and debate between members in an atmosphere of mutual trust were strongly encouraged, which guaranteed the richness of the discussions and the pertinence of the wrap-ups and the conclusions drawn from them. Appropriate tools from what can be called prospective strategy or strategic prospective (coming from the French school of stratégie prospective) are used to reach a valid conclusion through a crystal clear group process. Members of the Club bear witness to the input and benefits gained by participating in the Club: prioritising issues, confronting and validating ideas, possible response leads, operational added value, whether to consider strategy or management. BASF Agro France follows through on the direct and operational conclusions, feeding its strategy, projects and programs, for example by contributing to a corporate vision which fully integrates sustained development.