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SPECIFICS is a project of the French Priority Research Programme "Cultiver et Protéger Autrement" ("Growing and Protecting Differently").

Its objective is to identify and evaluate different levers for the transition to pesticide-free field crop systems that include seed legumes by looking for new sources of resistance, by integrating more biological diversity in time (rotation) and space (intra- and interspecific associated crops, agroecological infrastructures, etc.), and by studying solutions for enhancing and promoting these systems. Our project brings together agronomists, geneticists, pathologists, entomologists, ecologists, economists and sociologists to design varieties, practices, technical itineraries, valuation and advisory methods that will make it possible to achieve the economic and agronomic sustainability objectives of pesticide-free cropping systems that include a significant proportion of seed legumes. Our experiments will be based on agroecological experimental platforms, in which pesticide-free cropping systems rich in legumes are widely implemented, as well as on a large survey and economic data processing system.