On July 3, at the Maison des Associations in Rennes, a first ATTER meeting was held on the theme of agroecological transitions of territorial food systems, bringing together scientists, political, institutional, economic and associative actors. , and citizens. It was a question of grasping the thickness of the issues, in the current global context but above all at the scale of the territories, from the different perspectives and experiences of the 19 organizations and 5 countries associated in ATTER, but also to outline proposals and identify paths to follow.

The day was therefore organized to facilitate the expression of points of view and exchanges, in total resonance with the spirit and approach of ATTER, which works from shared perspectives on a diversity of case studies. It was concluded by Laurence Maillart Méhaignerie, President of the National Food Council. The first results of the project, which is halfway through, were shared both to collect questions and critical views from people outside the project and to serve as basic material for debates and exchange dynamics. Different sessions structured the day as so many different interaction spaces to elicit reactions, testimonies and proposals, based on presentations by ATTER members on cross-cutting analyzes in different countries of the role of public policies or on methods of support, speeches from actors outside the project and finally group workshops, comparing two case studies of the project.

You can download the abstracts and slideshows of the presentations below (in French).

This day was a success in the sense that the participants, whatever their sphere of activity, demonstrated the interest and importance of creating these moments of exchange to debate between actors who have not so often the opportunity to get together, as moments of enrichment and stimulation. The international comparative dimension was recognized as inspiring in the reflections, thanks to the principle of comparing carefully contextualized cases. For example, the comparison of the cases of the metropolises of Coventry (UK) and Rennes made it possible to highlight how different socio-political contexts lead to contrasting visions of the food question: a national culture of food aid relayed by local communities versus an active policy of a municipality for the purposes of quality and food autonomy. The plenary discussions made it possible to identify issues shared between the different countries, particularly around the modalities and experiences of debate and local governance of transitions and food issues. Among these challenges: going beyond an already aware public, by relying on positive discrimination procedures but also on conviviality and celebration; recognize the diversity and even conflicts of visions and “narratives” on these transitions; design public policies that support emerging dynamics in territories and networks of actors without rigidifying and homogenizing transition trajectories.

Following this day, a collective declaration is being co-written by interested participants and will soon be distributed to stakeholders and networks interested in these issues of agroecological transition for territorial food systems. It highlights some points of vigilance to respond to both ecological and social justice issues supporting a transformative and critical perspective of the territorialization and greening of territorial agri-food systems.