Soil and Pest Management in French Polynesian Farming Systems and Drivers and Barriers for Implementation of Practices Based on Agroecological Principles

Mélanie Surchat,Alexander Wezel,Jean-François Vian,Vincent Tolon,Tor Arvid Breland,Philippe Couraud

doi:10.3389/fsufs.2021.708647

Abstract

In the context of climate change, French Polynesia is committed to increasing qualitatively and quantitatively local food production. In this regard, agroecology is perceived as a sustainable pathway to improve farming practices. This article proposes first a theoretical framework to analyze the proximity of farmers' management to agroecological principles. Second, it describes the current use of agroecological pest and soil management practices by French Polynesian farmers. And third, it explains which agronomic and socio-economic factors drive the implementation of agroecological practices. For this, qualitative interviews were conducted with 32 farmers on three islands, and statistical analyses were carried for correlation between the use of practices and socio-economic variables. Results show that French Polynesian farmers implement different soil and pest management practices that are in line with agroecological principles. Farmers scored better in terms of pest management with high plant diversity, implementation of crop rotations, and mechanical weed management. There is a significant influence of the “cropping system” and the “production system” (organic, integrated, and conventional) on the use of practices as well as proximity to agroecological principles. Identified pathways for an agroecological transition are implementing farmer to farmer knowledge exchange, farmer networks, and farm demonstrations as well as training of extension services staff.

Highlights

French Polynesia faces major challenges for future development because of expected climate change impacts with rising sea levels, coral bleaching that threatens fisheries and natural barriers against heavy storms, and loss of endemic species linked to the loss of insular habitats (Bellard et al, 2013; Communauté du Pacifique Sud, 2017)
Considering the tropical farming characteristics in French Polynesia, we found the six principles defined by Altieri and Nicholls (1999, p. 69– 84) relevant to guide our analysis of the use of practices based on ecological principles2: 2The common use of the term “agroecological practices” may be perceived as reductionist, as an agroecological approach is holistic and will always place a strong emphasis on the functioning of a practice within the context of the whole farming system in its local environment
The farmers from our sample implement different soil and pest management practices that are in line with agroecological principles by utilizing ecological processes and ecosystem services for food production (Wezel et al, 2014)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

French Polynesia faces major challenges for future development because of expected climate change impacts with rising sea levels, coral bleaching that threatens fisheries and natural barriers against heavy storms, and loss of endemic species linked to the loss of insular habitats (Bellard et al, 2013; Communauté du Pacifique Sud, 2017). When acknowledging the new threats on food security, it became a priority for the government to increase the quantity of food produced locally (Ministère de l’Economie Rurale, 2011) This is reflected in the present research, which focuses on fruit, vegetable, and staple crops as they represent most of the agricultural production, and as they can provide important elements to improve food security. As there is no recent data on farmers’ practices in French Polynesia, a transition first requires a characterization of a baseline of currently common practices Both “classical” and innovative farmers developing improved practices need to be interviewed to identify the main sociological, cultural, economic, and technical barriers and drivers for implementing cropping practices better aligned with agroecological principles (Magrini and Triboulet, 2012; Meynard, 2012). The interviews were carried out following a holistic approach including the economical, technical and sociocultural factors and their interactions

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

ETHICS STATEMENT