In Vaucluse, cereal production is becoming less and less profitable

Cereal harvests have been disrupted in the past by the Covid crisis and the war in Ukraine. This year, climatic difficulties were added, causing a dark year for the cereal harvest in the great south of France. On the other hand, the Vaucluse department was spared: “This year we haven't had a problem with the weather, but when the weather decides to get in the middle, it's even worse“, explains Sylvain Bernard, farmer.

Durum wheat is the most cultivated cereal in the department with nearly 3,000 hectares, which represents 11% of the agricultural area (latest figures 2022). This year, “production and yield were correct unlike previous years but it remains very heterogeneous“, develops André Bernard, member of the Chamber of Agriculture. Cereal cultivation has declined in recent years, “too unprofitable. It is not a sector that is developing, quite the contrary“, says André Bernard. For this to become one, “cereal cultivation must be integrated into a more global plan. We need a piecemeal evolution“, he explains.