Abstract
Family farming research expertise in Languedoc-RoussillonWorld agriculture is overwhelmingly dominated by family farming, which is the leading rural employment source and food provider. The 2014 International Year of Family Farming launched by the United Nations spotlights the importance of this system, providing an opportunity for the Agropolis International scientific community to showcase its high long-standing commitment to research on and for family farming.The topics covered in this Dossier concern 21 research units based in Languedoc-Roussillon Region, involving over 1 000 researchers whose activities are fully or partially focused on addressing—in collaboration with many partners—major family farming challenges in France and worldwide.The scientists have developed four multidisciplinary approaches to deal with family farming issues—these are designed to:- study economic, organizational and social dynamics related to family farming- investigate and develop tailored farming and livestock production systems to enhance sustainable agricultural production without upsetting rural communities and environments- manage natural resources and biodiversity, with family farms playing a key role- support farmers regarding innovations, resource management and the analysis of interactions between public policy and local and regional stakeholder dynamics.This Dossier also underlines the activities of three Montpellier-based foreign and international research institutions that are highly involved in the development of smallholder farming in developing countries, in partnership with regional teams.Finally, it summarizes degree and nondegree training-education programmes offered by Agropolis International member institutions.