the essential
The visions of Frédéric Rouanet and Viviane Thivent were almost reconcilable on certain points.
In Aude, the share of farms and estates labeled organic or High Environmental Value (HVE) is today very significant; therefore, is the use of these phytosanitary products in the department still as essential as before? Hasn’t their use become less?
Frédéric Rouanet. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work yet. My colleagues who produce organic sell less than wine which is in HEV. The consumer does not have the money to buy the product which is a little more expensive in the organic approach. Which means that we have to make a difference between the wishes we all have and reality. I would dream of no longer using phytosanitary products because that is what annoys me the most and is the most expensive. We must not believe that we are supporters of Monsanto, these people above all cost us money. But today I have no choice but to use these products, because I have to bring healthy grapes to my cooperative cellar so as not to contaminate my colleagues’ grapes. I’m just arguing that we need it right now. Some organic colleagues are making disagreements because there is no longer a market. They sell their wine twenty times cheaper. There are no longer any consumers of this type of product.
Viviane Thivent. Indeed, going organic costs a lot of money and there are many farmers who don’t know how to do it. The problem is that they need people on whom they can rely to progress in their practice. However, there is something different between organic and HVE which is not the same thing as organic, there is a form of trickery because we can use pesticides. We must not make people believe that phytosanitary products are medicines, there are plenty of studies which prove that they are dangerous for the population. These are toxic products and we must move towards a reduction. 30 years ago, we could say that we didn’t know that it had an impact, now we do. But in France, it was difficult to get feedback on the health of local residents because there is no clear count, these are difficult things.
How can we achieve the necessary balance between the profitability of agricultural operations and the preservation of the environment?
EN The debate is clear. There must be no suppression without solution. But the problem is that we are completely alone on this subject. I have seen winegrowers who have tried things but it is not profitable. In viticulture it’s very simple, if I produce very little, I have to sell my wine very expensively. Who can afford to buy very expensive wine here? Nobody, there aren’t any, we can’t sell. We (the Aude winegrowers’ union, Editor’s note) have a volume obligation.
VT Biodiversity as I know it is that which farmers, and their grandparents, created. Most of the landscapes we see around us are fields, cultivated land. This agriculture can be beneficial for the environment, it can also be beneficial for biodiversity. But not all agriculture. There is a moment, we must say that between profitability and from time to time having losses, we try to maintain a certain balance, this question must be asked. And between using a toxic product, for the environment and the health of my children, I would prefer that we say that “this year we are going to do differently”. I also believe that we must look at things on a case-by-case basis, but we must not forget the health cost of these products on the people who live around them. Another observation is that it is not only organic wines that are having difficulty selling their stock but the entire sector.
