Farmers’ perception on grasslands diversity and the link with the animal health

Grassland is a complex ecosystem which includes different type of species according to many environmental factors and area management. Grassland surface covers about 71 million of ha in Europe and has a key role in the production systems of marginal areas. In France, grassland is the base of the livestock sector providing economic opportunities for farms and services for the society. Since permanent grassland is recognized to be a large source of secondary metabolites, which have been related to have positive effects on health (antioxidant, antiflammatory…) the PRAIDIV project has been developed. The project final aim is to improve the management and the uses of grasslands and to enhance its value related to the livestock health. To pursuit this aim it is necessary to know what is doing in the field and which is the perception of farmers about grasslands diversity and its value. This Thesis which is part of the Action 1 of PRAIDIV project, has the aim to establish the perception of the farmers about grassland and its value linked with the animals’ health. A national survey has been conducted in 103 French farms belonging to several livestock sector, including dairy, suckler cow and small ruminants, characterized by different farm dimension and management. Analysis have been conducted through Excel and R software. Results have shown different perception about what is a good grassland, resulting in “diversity” the first parameter identified by farmers and “productive” the second one to describe it. After this, farmers have been divided in four main groups according to the link they are making between grassland diversity and animals’ health: STRONG, MEDIUM, WEAK and NO LINK. At least MCA analysis was performed to establish if there is a correlation between farmers making same link and structure a management farms characteristics. No significant correlation has been found. Since the majority of farmers are making a connection grasslands diversity-animals health, the overall result of this study shows the already awareness of farmers about grasslands diversity and its health value and represents the basis for the development of the other PRAIDIV project actions.