This Thursday, November 21, 2024 in Caen (Calvados), it was the day of the presentation of the Stars of Europe in Normandy, a new competition organized by the region and which rewards projects supported by Europe. For this first edition, 85 applications were submitted, including 21 selected by the Normandy jury which brought out the eight stars ultimately awarded. In the category of research and development, representatives of the institutional, economic, cultural, teaching and research world chose to distinguish the “Stimagro” project, led by the Veragrow company and its 25 million active employees. in the recycling of organic waste, earthworms, based in Val-de-Reuil (Eure).
Founded in 2019 by Alexandre Bocage, Alexandre Foulon and Théo Saint-Martin, Veragrow is located at the Hauts Prés organic farming center in Val-de-Reuil, and aims in particular to process organic waste that the French have. obligation to sort since January 1st. “We feed them to earthworms, and we collect their droppings. It’s vermicompost, the oldest fertilizer in the world,” explains Théo Saint-Martin. With their production, the Euroise company launched a program called Stimagro “in order to extract and concentrate the active ingredients and add other ingredients to make biostimulants”.
After more than 300 tests carried out in France, Europe, West Africa and Brazil since the start of the year, three products are now marketable. “Veraleaf, in foliar application to help the development of the plant. Veraspida, to coat seeds for better germination. And the last one, authorized since May 2024, Veraterra, to nourish the soil before or after crops,” explains the co-founder.
Three products which can be used by organic farming, but which are also “intended for all farmers via cooperatives and agricultural businesses”, he insists. “These are not treatments, but stimulators for all types of plantations. We have even validated that on sterilized soil, micro-organisms come back and last over time. » A way of thinking about agriculture which “provides another perspective on the soil, the plant and allows practices to evolve”, believes Théo Saint-Martin.
While the Veragrow team has more than doubled in size since the launch of the Stimagro project in 2021, “So this award is important to us, because it has a European resonance. »
