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Over the past few years, farming has faced a number of challenges. In the North, for example, the decline in the number of farmers, the concentration and transfer of farms, the sustainability of income, societal pressure to preserve the health of people and ecosystems, adaptation to climate change, robotization... In the South, it is also and often the great weakness and insecurity of income, the small size of farms, increasingly difficult emigration, the erosion of natural resources... Some issues remain common and question the nature of agricultural and food models. Others are specific to certain regions, but globally question the meaning of being a farmer today and in the future.

In this article, the "Systèmes alimentaires / Food systems" journal  brings together the views of Nathalie Hostiou (INRAE) and Bruno Dorin (CIRAD/CIRED) in the field of work in agriculture to shed light on the debate, by reviewing the main developments and specific features of work in Agriculture, and then analyzing how these issues relate to the major economic and social challenges facing countries in the North and South.

Copyright Classique Garnier, Paris