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Cahiers Agricultures. Volume 5, Number 2, 71-6, Mars-Avril 1996, Dossier

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Author(s) : A. Fleury, H. Moisan, C. Jegou

Summary : The "green belt" made up of farmland which used to supply Paris with fresh vegetables, has almost gone. Nowadays, the word is used by town planners to designate open areas which surround the city, with no particular reference to agriculture. These consist of almost continuously built up zones with a sprinkling of parks, urban woodland and some farm fields, used mainly for market gardening. An analysis of farm field distribution highlights two distinct dynamic processes: - resettlement in rural areas\; for some farms, the process has only just started\; for others, owning just a couple of fields close to the conurbation, it is almost completed\; - relocation in preserved zones, classified as non building areas by the urban planning authorities. The cropping system, marketing modes and economic dimension are the main differentiating criteria for such farms. Three ideotypes were characterized: - large farms, which grow vegetable crops that can be produced on a large scale (potatoes, for instance) and sell on the wholesale market\; - small farms employing mainly family workforce and selling their produce on the retail market (either direct on the farm, or on the street markets in town)\; - large farms that also sell on the retail market, but employ paid workers, up to ten workers in some instances. Some farmers have frequent opportunities fot contact with urban life. They may live in town and share the same concerns as their town neighbours, thus being townspeople, whose job is in agriculture. Through selling in the town market, they are in touch with their customers and quickly learn about new food habits which they can then integrate into their farming system. Thus, this social group has a mediating role between the rural and urban ways of life, as vegetable producers settled in rural areas become very close to other farmers. New stakes are emerging nowadays for market gardening in urban surroundings, although this industry has good reasons for retreating from these areas. From the farmers’ standpoint, farming within the town area must obviously move to other sites. Besides, growing vegetables away from the town is a lot easier. Moreover peasants were traditionally looked down upon by townspeople. In addition many town planners equated agricultural areas with empty or areas res nullius. However, since diversity (of landscapes, society, vegetation or open areas), is the latest motto in town planning, there may be new prospects for "farmers inside the city".

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