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Despite fragmented scientific knowledge on the subject, the number of precarious agricultural workers and the cost and diversity of policies targeting them are increasing in France. In order to study the evolution of the institutional framework regulating the use of these employees in agriculture, this article periodises the public policies supporting this use from the 1960s to 2019, in relation to the development model promoted by the public authorities. These policies were first aimed at increasing the income of all agricultural workers (1960-1989); then policies focused on precarious workers supported the promotion of a competitive agricultural model (1990-2002); finally, the promotion of the use of precarious workers became more central between 2002 and 2019.