The organization of producers Peaches and Apricots of France mobilized its technical network last week at the Chamber of Agriculture of the Gard department in order to take stock of topics of interest to French producers of stone fruit and also to prepare the upcoming season.
This year, nearly 50 technicians, experimenters, advisors and producers attended the meeting. “We come together every year, but this meeting was special, with a large attendance and a growing number of topics. Almost all the companies were represented, which confirms our members’ interest in the topics, as well as the increasing strength of our network,” explains Raphaël Martinez, director of the Peaches and Apricots of France.
Reduction of authorized active substances: a subject of concern for producers
One of the main points discussed concerned phytosanitary products. “This topic causes real concern given the increasingly reduced amount of authorized active substances for the producers. We work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture (DGAL) so as not to leave producers without a solution.”
Eco-responsible orchards: a common unifying tool
The Eco-responsible Orchards Charter was also a point of discussion. “It is a very unifying approach because it is connected with other dimensions - certifications Global Gap, quality, CSR, carbon sequestration - and the other fruit sectors. There is a real increase in the power of this charter, a common unifying tool that is still very much appreciated.”
Precise outlook on the evolution of the French production within 3 to 5 years
Another tool developed by the organization and presented at the meeting was the inventory of the peach and apricot orchards of France. “It is an essential tool for producers for the management of their orchards because the inventory helps them get a prospective vision of the French production by making hypotheses on the volume of production within 3 to 5 years per fortnight. This way, producers can choose the varieties they plant with precise information on the production prospects for each period of the campaign, and the suitable varieties.”
HEV and Low Carbon Label
The HEV certification was also at the heart of the reunion. “To this day, 83% of the planted areas have the HEV certification. The objective was to define the perspectives of this certification which requires a lot from producers technically.
Carbon sequestration was also discussed. “We gather precise references on carbon sequestration and emission, and we deepen our knowledge. Various tools are already in place (LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), Low Carbon Label) but we would like to extend them to all plantations. We will soon be able to offer peach and apricot producers some financing for carbon storage in the orchard. We will propose them to our processing and distribution partners.
This meeting was also an opportunity to review residue analyses and launch a technical and economic observatory of the technical results of large-scale farms, initially for peaches and nectarines.
All this data will be shared by the network of 600 producers in order to continue to prepare for the upcoming season.
For more information:
Raphaël Martinez
AOP Pêches et Abricots de France
Phone: +33 (0)6 09 98 38 09
[email protected]