Linking organizational and technical dimensions to design integrated collective farms: a case study in Camargue, France

New models of collective agriculture have been developing in France over the past 10 years that could encourage the emergence of more diversified and sustainable systems. However, as such production systems are relatively more complex to manage, the involvement of more people may be required. This raises renewed questions concerning the collective organization of work. Our study’s main hypothesis is that the collective organization of work could encourage crop-livestock integration and underlying agroecological processes. To test this hypothesis, we implemented a participatory design approach in a case study in Camargue (France). We first used ecological network analysis to characterize flows of material between production units and assess associated biotechnical performances, namely, efficiency, resilience, productivity, and dependence. In a second step, we drew from the QuaeWork method, which we adapted to the study of collective farms, to characterize the organizational dimension. These two methods allowed us to generate quantitative indicators related to the performance of the system (expressed in kgN.ha⁻¹.yr⁻¹) and to calculate and estimate the time spent on various types of work (h.yr⁻¹). Using a participatory design approach, we then developed and assessed three scenarios with varying levels of integration between activities. The results indicate that the gradual substitution of external resources by internal resources leads to a broader range of flows within the system, generating performances that vary depending on the scenario. The design of the scenarios revealed the repercussions of the organization of work within production units. The two most integrated scenarios are more efficient and resilient than the scenario without integration between units, but they are less productive. Our research contributes novel insights into the impact of agroecological practices on the organization of work on collective farms. Our findings enable a deeper understanding of the complex link between the collective organization of production and the articulation of activities.