The René-Descartes school in Villeneuve is environmentally certified. A theme chosen as an establishment project in partnership with the town hall and the Mutualité Sociale Agricole and with the help of parents. The objective was to show children the various facets of the local economic fabric. The recent cycling experience organized within the establishment made it possible to raise the question of the health of champions and to take an interest in their diet.
A vision of agriculture today
Hence last Thursday’s visit to Bias, organized by the MSA, of 19 CM1 students led by their school teacher Emilie Dufau, helped by parents, to the ultra-modern greenhouses of the Hollaar family. “Through this type of action, we want to reflect on the real cultures of agriculture today,” explains Marie-Pierre Andrieu, project manager for elected officials.
The children did not fail to be intrigued by the sight of these yellow and red clusters of cherry tomatoes hanging at the height of the picker on very tall stems. As a true teacher, Philippe Hollaar gave precise explanations on a culture which does not use phytosanitary products, but other harmless systems to fight, for example, against insects. According to the established formula, zero residues in the fruit. Particular care is given to the taste of the tomato through the concentration of mineral fertilizers and water which nourishes it and which “stresses” it!
Gas is used as a means of heating greenhouses. The company has a generator that produces electricity, which it sells between November and March 24 hours a day to EDF, a portion equivalent to the consumption of some 3,000 inhabitants of Bias.
A dozen permanent staff and around fifty seasonal workers work in these greenhouses whose production of around 1000 tonnes is marketed by the Cadralbret cooperative under the brand “Les paysans de Rougeline”.
Very interested in Philippe’s explanations, which are not always obvious on a technical and scientific level, the students did not hesitate to ask many relevant questions. They well deserved the punnet of cherry tomatoes that was graciously offered to them at the end of the visit.
