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Although urban agriculture has always existed, its current growth and enthusiasm is global, and French territory is no exception. Urban dwellers are now expecting local agricultural production that respects the environment and human health, which this agriculture proposes to meet.
The "face" of urban agriculture appears complex. It has very different characteristics, in terms of location (at the foot of the building, rooftops, abandoned car parks, etc.), type of production (plant culture or small animal breeding). ), support culture (full earth, substrate, hydroponics), activity (production and marketing or cultural or event services, etc.), its governance involving a wide variety of actors (citizen associations, farmers, communities, architect , promoters, etc.) or its economic reason.
In this article, we will focus on urban agriculture from an economic point of view, distinguishing two categories: non-market places of production (allotment or shared gardens, so-called collective or community gardens); merchant farms whose objective is to produce and market their productions or services in a profitable manner.
Urban non-market agriculture, a strong social issue
In France, since the 2000s, public urban spaces (tree stands, sidewalks, interstices, hollow teeth, etc.) have been progressively "colonized" by vegetable and / or flower crops, carried out under the impetus of citizens and associations of neighborhoods, municipalities (Paris and the permit to plant) or international associations such as Incredible Edibles.
The stakes here are not economic; rather, they are part of a social movement (sharing food or being accessible to all), education and health to reconnect urban dwellers with the seasonality of their food production. Food production is not expected, even if the cultivation of edible plants in private spaces (gardens, balconies, terraces) is growing strongly.
Another form, represented by collective gardens (shared gardens and allotment gardens), ensures regular productions and has a more organized governance. The objectives are also non-market, vegetable and / or small fruit or honey production for gardeners or volunteers.
The allotment gardens, descendants of the abbot Lemire's allotment gardens, have individual plots of up to 40 m.2 a few hundred meters2, while shared gardens occupy interstices in the cities, with plots most frequently common of a few tens of2.
The shared gardens appear in the 2000s, supported by neighborhood associations and accompanied by communities that allow the occupation of public spaces for gardening. Some grants for the purchase of tools or seeds or seedlings are given to them in exchange for services such as organizing visits to schools, participating in events promoting zero waste, better nutrition, etc.
The number of shared gardens is currently growing in France: a handful in the 2000s, there are more than 400, ten years later. And that number keeps growing. For the metropolis of Bordeaux alone, there are more than 150, and 255 in Île-de-France in 2018 when they were non-existent in 2000.
Concerning the allotment gardens, although the craze is there, their growth is much less, the necessary land being more important. Two national associations Jardinot and the FNJF manage respectively for one 75 centers of allotment gardens (with about 100 parcels for each center) on the national territory and for the other more than three thousand parcels in the region of Ile-de-France.
The benefits of these forms of agriculture for urban people (physical contact with nature, fight against stress, healthy food, development of social relations with other gardeners, insertion) have long been recognized. The investment of municipalities to create these gardens is inexpensive (from 15 to 500 euros per m2), their maintenance and exploitation going back to the gardeners, their existence and durability are essentially weakened by the pressure on the land.
As the demography of cities continues to grow, leading to speculation and competition between housing and collective gardening, and this despite protective regulations due in particular to different laws (July 26, 1952, November 10, 1976 and the July 10 draft law). made by the 2002 Senate for the creation of gardens, which grant land development corporations
and of the rural establishment (Safer) and to the local authorities the right of pre-emption to acquire and develop these gardens, while allowing the expropriated associations to demand the provision of an equivalent land.
One hundred companies with values
The forms of urban agriculture evoked so far have essentially social aims, their food production not being sold – even if gardeners find there "healthy and quality food that they would not have the means to buy. "
At the same time urban urban market projects are developing in cities, claiming the same positive environmental, social, health and educational externalities as their non-profit cousins. The emergence of these new professional structures, start-ups, VSEs or larger companies involve many changes and transitions from production to insertion in the city, many actors – architects, urban planners, landscapers, communities, scientists, etc.
There are some 100 urban agriculture companies in France, most of which are federated within AFAUP. The Paris region is currently the most dynamic, driven undoubtedly by the operation "Parisculteurs", but many municipalities are mobilizing.
These urban merchant farms of a new kind occupy small areas, from a few hundred to a few thousand square meters.2. Whatever their legal status, they have a truly entrepreneurial vocation and aim at producing goods (food, agricultural equipment) and / or services that ensure their viability and competitiveness. These new productive farms are often carried by people who are not from farming, who have been retrained or who have completed higher management training.
Regardless of their location (wasteland, roof, etc.), these productive and commercial organizations use a variety of techniques. There are those called low-tech: they cultivate in the ground, in bins or on substrates, always in the open air or under a simple shelter (Veni-verdi, The urban peasant, Cycloponics, Mugo, Terreau, Topager, etc.).
Then come the high-tech farms: they are found in containers and using artificial light (Agricool, Hydroponic, Agriloops), vertically (FUL) and sometimes on walls made of recycled materials (Under the strawberries). They can use technologies such as hydroponics or aeroponics (Agripolis, Aéromates, Refarmers, Les Sourciers) by associating "connected" technologies in aquaponics, for example (AMP, Water in mouth, Urbanleaf ) to precisely control the culture media.
Added to this are other types of actors: manufacturers of compost from urban organic waste from households and restaurants (the Alchemists, Moulinot Compost, the Detritivores, etc.), suppliers of seedlings and seeds (organic or farmer).
Depending on the technology used or the surface (roof, slabs, foot of building), the installation of these farms requires first of all to pass the legal barrier specific to urban land. We must then mobilize significant investments – from tens of thousands of euros to several hundreds of thousands of euros, or even millions for high-tech vertical greenhouses (as in Romainville) or rooftops (Lufa Farm in Montreal) before having the first harvest.
New business models
To be economically viable, these market organizations invent new business models.
We can see that "urban farmers" (knowing that this status still does not exist) are not just farmers. In addition to food production, activities in this sector are numerous: sale of agricultural equipment, installation and maintenance services of urban farms, training in gardening or new practices within companies, animation of educational and therapeutic workshops, etc.
According to our survey conducted in 2017, the results of which will be published shortly, on 26 market organizations, 64% produce and sell food products, 20% equipment and 16% create and market services. However, only 24% of them have one activity (4 produce and sell vegetables and 2 sell services), the remaining 76% develop a hybrid model of pluriactivities between production and services.
The mere sale of their production is not enough to make their business profitable because of a lack of volume, as the areas exploited are small and the farming practices have not yet reached their maximum productivity rate.
If the market for local products without synthetic pesticides is there, according to a study by the Carrasso Foundation, 70% of French say they favor the purchase of local products, the price remains a handicap for many. This is why food production in urban agriculture is often high value-added, targeting high-purchasing customers and restaurant owners looking for specific flavors.
The field of possibilities
The young economic sector of urban agriculture has to find its own modes of operation. In the scientific literature, there is little data on success factors – only 4 to 5 economic models are identified. But there are other possibilities, such as those of the circular economy or networking, that urban farmers do not fail to implement.
Some market organizations are viable today, others have high chances of success. Success depends on a multiplicity of factors to consider: vision of the entrepreneur, skills and values of the team, ability to mobilize an ecosystem and provide services to the city (reduce heat islands for example) and to all urban people (integration, healthy and accessible food, etc.).
The success of such a project also depends on the ability to create partnerships, including training and research; and to seek support from municipalities (for access to lower cost of land) or developers, who can become partners in bringing land and customer networks. The success also comes from the combination with other local activities – catering, beverage manufacturer, beekeepers, etc. – and sharing experiences and practices.
Like any other company, the market-making organizations of urban agriculture have every chance of success if they take into account the reality of the conditions of production and marketing and know how to match the expectations of the market with the values they bear. In these conditions, they have their place in urban areas.
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