17 Aug 2017
Since 2011, French public policy has been encouraging a reduction in the use of
antibiotics in animal farming. The aim of this article is to look at how some farms have
already managed to lower their consumption of antibiotics, and to highlight the levers of
change in farming health practices. Our research uses a qualitative study based on
21 semi-structured interviews with farmers and veterinarians in the French pig-farming
sector. We use the notion of “trajectory of change” to examine, over time, the intersection
of the technical, economic, social and organisational determinants which affect the reduced
use of antibiotics. The “learning process” concept makes it possible to take account of the
way in which the actors assimilate, appropriate and implement new health practices. We
have identified three interdependent levels of learning: technical learning, cognitive learning
and organisational learning.
Keywords: antibiotics, animal health, farmers, veterinarians, qualitative approach, learning
process, trajectory of change
