Diffusion of environmental innovations for pesticides reduction in grape growing

Adeline UGAGLIA
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     Last modified: January 4, 2010

Abstract
DRUID-DIME Academy Winter Conference
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Diffusion of environmental innovations for pesticides reduction in grape growing

Adeline UGAGLIA

University of Bordeaux (ENITAB), USC INRA GAIA (SAD)
PhD December 2007-2011
a-ugaglia@enitab.fr


In this paper we propose to discuss the contribution of the evolutionary theory on the understanding of the adoption / diffusion of environmental innovations. Focusing on the applied case of pesticides reduction in the wine sector, we argue that the evolutionary literature on environmental innovations provides a relevant framework in order to analyze the lock-in of the growers towards inputs like pesticides. Viticulture is considered as a highly polluting activity because of the quantities of pesticides used to protect the vineyards. Environmental issues about water quality and health are so critical since a few years that the growers are increasingly called upon to implement environmental innovations. But we observe that environmentally-friendly practices don’t spread and their implementation does not seem to rely on classical market mechanisms. Studies about the innovation process for pesticides reduction are consequently urgently needed to enhance our understanding of the diffusion of such practices. Earlier studies about pesticides reduction, mainly based on econometrics models, only describe the characteristics of environmentally-friendly grape farms. They don’t analyze the dynamics of environmental innovations, its determinants and the double externality problem. As there is no database about environmental innovations in this sector, we propose to conceive some guidelines to identify an appropriate evolutionary diffusion model to study these determinants in this particular industrial dynamic context. Evolutionary papers traditionally focus on environmental policy and also determinants at the demand and supply side. From this literature and the characteristics of the wine sector, we establish some stylized facts as a basis for the development of a model analyzing the determinants of environmental innovations in grape growing.

The paper starts with the presentation of the problem of pesticides reduction in grape growing. Then we present the conceptualization of pesticides reduction in the evolutionary theory of environmental innovations explaining for the first time the lock-in of the growers. We present some stylized facts of pesticides reduction in the dynamic context of grape growing as the basis of our diffusion model. Finally, we show that there are various diffusion models and give some arguments to choose the more appropriate one to highlight the determinants of pesticides reduction.

Key words: environmental innovation, pesticides reduction, grape growing, evolutionary model

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