From generation to generation | Celine Bessiere

Farmers are becoming increasingly rare. They now represent just under 3% of the active population. Yet, they regularly attract media attention when commodity prices soar or when health and environmental crises question their production methods. However, social sciences have stopped showing interest in farmers since the 1980s. The purpose of this book is to fill a void. Why and how does one become a farmer today? It is known that farm transfers mainly occur within the family. Why and how do children of farmers take over a family farm, when other social opportunities could be available to them? This question deserves a reevaluation today, taking into account the transformations in the agricultural sector: globalization of markets, enlargement of farms, development of societies, and the lengthening of farmers' educational training. But this question also arises in light of the transformations in the wage labor market. After a period where taking over the farm seemed obvious, a period followed where it was better to leave a declining farm than to hold on to it. Today, mass unemployment gives new value to takeover strategies, especially since becoming a farmer no longer necessarily means marrying a farmer (or staying single), but increasingly implies having a partner who works "outside" the farm. This book is based on an ethnographic study conducted between 1997 and 2005 in vineyards in the Cognac region. From the grand estates of the wine business bourgeoisie to the small farms of ordinary wine deliverers, one also discovers families where relationships are forged between grandparents, parents, and children, between siblings, and between spouses. The book focuses on situations where, despite often unfavorable economic and social conditions, some young winegrowers still take over the farm. It uncovers a paradox. Taking over the farm requires intense family mobilization to transmit both the profession of winemaker, the status of business owner, and the productive heritage. Yet, young winegrowers present the takeover as a personal vocation, and parents also emphasize the freedom they give their children to embrace (or not) this vocation. Depending on the economic and social circumstances, taking over the farm can thus be both a family duty and/or a personal opportunity. Author: Céline Bessière is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University Paris-Dauphine / Institute of Interdisciplinary Research in Sociology and Political Science (IRISES), Associate Member of the Enquêtes Terrains Théories research team at the Center Maurice Halbwachs.