Agroecological transition strategies and collective action dynamics within geographical indication systems: case study of the Loire valley wine basin

An agroecological transition has today become a priority in the policy agenda due to the growing concerns about the negative environmental impacts of the mainstream agricultural model. Geographical indication (GI) systems are particularly concerned, being so strongly dependent on the characteristics of the terroir to which they are associated, especially in the wine sector for which the reduction of chemical inputs and carbon emissions are a major issue. Our study aims at analyzing the strategies of collective action that foster the agroecological transition of GI systems. By adapting the IAD/SES framework of E. Ostrom to agricultural systems, we analyze the governance system in which actors interact and how this impacts the strategies of agroecological transition that are carried out at regional and territorial scales. We have chosen the Loire Valley wine region as a case study because it claims 51 PDOs and 1 PGI, and includes institutional collectives at different geographical scales. Two interprofessional bodies regroup winegrowers and wine merchants over most part of the basin. Producers of these interprofessional body are self-organized into four wine federations of Nantes, Anjou-Saumur, Touraine and Sancerre for PDO wines and one syndicate for the PGI wines. We analyze how governance structures at these different levels drive the different agroecological strategies carried out collectively in order to bring winegrowers to change their practices.