Socio-technical lock-ins to crop-livestock integration: Case study in Guadeloupe

Crop-livestock integration practices are often put forward as a means of increasing autonomy at farm and regional scales. However, despite their potential, these practices are rarely implemented. In Guadeloupe, they have persisted on small family farms oriented towards agroecology and organic farming. The sociotechnical diagnosis methodology enabled us to identify the main obstacles to the development of integration practices and to propose levers. Lack of knowledge about these practices, difficulties in organising stakeholders, the organisation and arduousness of work, the absence of suitable equipment and the inadequacy of public policies would be the main obstacles to the deployment of these practices. This work leads to a number of recommendations, in particular concerning sustained public action over the long term