Abstract
As an increasing number of voices rise against the erosion of cultivated biodiversity, the preservation of local ecotypes emerges as a way to mitigate this phenomenon while satisfying the growing demand for local products. Although some of these ecotypes are covered by Geographical Indications (GI), the majority of them are not and remain largely unexplored by social and human sciences research. These ecotypes can be seen as "resources" defined by territorial economy as "factors to be exploited, organized, or revealed"(Colletis & Pecqueur, 2005): latent and underutilized resources. However, resources understood in this way are rarely the central focus of research, as the attention is primarily directed towards activated, territorial, and specific resources. Therefore, the thesis proposes a methodological approach to comprehensively study latent resources in order to contribute to "territorial economy". It employs a comprehensive method and compares two ecotypes without GI: the Toulouges onion, specifically cultivated in the Pyrénées-Orientales region of France, and the Bamberger birnenförmige Zwiebel cultivated in Bamberg, Germany. It revolves around two questions: why are these productions not covered byGI or institutionalized collective initiatives? Why do all the actors involved in onion production not gravitate towards these ecotypes? From a comprehensive perspective, the thesis examines the meaning attributed to the onion by actors directly or indirectly involved in its value chain and highlights four types of meanings: sensory, economic, social, and territorial. The onion holds varying meanings for different actors, and these differences provide insights into understanding the choice, or lack thereof, of a local ecotype, the unequal attachment felt towards it, and the varying desire for a formalized collective and label to protect and valorize it. This comprehensive analysis reveals, among other things, that in terms of economic, social, and sensory meanings attributed to the onion, organic and conventional actors differ little. The difference is more pronounced when considering the territorial meaning, which helps explain why organic vegetable growers are less inclined towards local ecotypes and products with GI. The comprehensive study of local ecotypes conducted here opens up new perspectives in the field of research on the territorialization of agriculture in social and human sciences, particularly in "territorial economy". It invites us to question three elements that are often taken for granted: the attention given to GI, the valorization of collective action, and the focus on territory. More broadly, through itsreflexive and quasi-inductive nature and by taking into account the individual's perspective, the comprehensive method offers an innovative and stimulating approach to studying underutilized resources, weak signals of activation, or, conversely, the reasons behind non-activation