Two agricultural cooperatives established in Deux-Sèvres and Charente-Maritime, Sèvre et Belle and the Loulay Agricultural Entente Cooperative (CEA Loulay), announced, Thursday, December 19, 2024, the completion of their merger project. They now form a new entity under the name Oxagri.
“Gathered in an extraordinary general meeting on December 17 and 19, 2024, the members of the two neighboring cooperatives Sèvre et Belle and CEA Loulay validated the merger project of the two structures”management said in a press release.
The alliance of two neighboring cooperatives
Work towards this union began in March 2024, with the objective “to acquire a more robust size in the face of the many challenges”specifies Matthieu Guiho, director of Sèvre et Belle.
Themselves resulting from the grouping of cooperatives, Sèvre et Belle and CEA Loulay are historically established in their respective departments. They were, before the merger, “fairly close economic dimensions”with 80,000 tonnes of cereals collected per year in Deux-Sèvres and 120,000 tonnes in Charente-Maritime.
Seven hundred farmers
The new entity has a total of 700 farmers (around 350 in each department) and 62 employees for a turnover of 80 million euros. It collects around 200,000 tonnes of cereals on fourteen sites: mainly wheat, but also corn, barley, sunflower and rapeseed, as well as crops “niches” such as lentils, flax and chickpeas.
Two subsidiaries complete its activity: Agrisem in Saintes (market gardening, horticulture, viticulture and landscaping) and Meth'innov, a collective methanization unit located in Melle.
“Many challenges”
“In a rapidly changing agricultural world and faced with the many challenges to be met (renewal of generations, adaptation of agricultural systems, climate change, innovation), the new cooperative sets itself the objectives of anticipating developments in agricultural models by improving performance economics of the cooperative toolindicates Oxagri, offer personalized and innovative technical, agronomic and commercial support, maintain proximity and agility, guarantees of the quality of the relationship with its members. »
The leaders of the two cooperatives during the announcement of the merger, December 19, 2024.
© (Photo Oxagri)
Oxagri's head office will be located in Lozay in Charente-Maritime, the La Crèche site being retained as well as all other locations, specifies Matthieu Guiho.
President elected in January
Governance will be structured “around a board of directors of thirty people drawn equally from the two historic cooperatives”. The president of Oxagri will be appointed on January 9, 2025.
Sèvre et Belle was distinguished on December 16, 2024 during the Top Companies of Deux-Sèvres evening, organized by The New Republicreceiving the Top prize for energy management, in partnership with Séolis. The cooperative notably carried out work to insulate and replace its oil boiler at La Crèche and built a photovoltaic power plant on its Thorigné site.
