Organic sitting in Provence

[Former Oceano]

(doc transmitted through my AMAP)

Organic food in Provence:
the Region wants to boost the sector

After saying no to GMOs in the open field in June 2004, after having set up the organic canteen action in 2005 in high schools, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region organized the first conference on March 9 organic in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.

The result of several months' work, these meetings brought together all the players in the organic sector: producers, distributors, researchers, consumers ... and it was an important, not to say historic, moment that the Region lived on that day. About 120 people responded. You should know that in Paca, 38 hectares are devoted to organic farming (or 000% of cultivated areas) for 5,5 farms or farms.

Organic farming is obvious for:

- environmental protection, positive impacts on water quality, soil, biodiversity and the landscape are among its induced effects linked, among other things, to the absence of chemical residues, savings energy, soil protection, diversification of production, biodiversity insurance ...

- the reduction of our ecological footprint, a compulsory reduction for the future of our planet, the application of the Kyoto Protocol through the climate plan requires a reduction by 4 (factor 4) of greenhouse gases by 2050.

- for the health of all, that of peasants (the cancer rate in this profession is reaching peaks), that of consumers, but also to find healthy products and taste, all things demanded by consumers.

- for the job. It should be remembered that this agriculture supports employment: we consider that for an equivalent area a bio-employment exploitation 20% to 30% more labor than a traditional exploitation

- for regional planning. Agriculture is not only clean air for city dwellers or landscapes for tourists, it is also an economic activity in the full sense of the term, which must be viable and socially just.

- to prepare society to enter the era of expensive oil, we must aim for food self-sufficiency, in the physical sense of "producing what we consume". When oil is more expensive, food will cost more and will be more seasonal and more local, less meaty and necessarily more organic because pesticides and fertilizers will be much more expensive.
The development of short marketing circuits will be an asset, let's develop them everywhere, AMAP, producers' stores, and GMS if they play the game.

Another advantage of organic food in the short circuit is that it makes it possible to overcome the food dependence of the territories, orchestrated by the agricultural policies of the WTO or the European Union which unfortunately takes them back and which put in competition and not in cooperation with the territories.

The purpose of these meetings is to eventually create an Interpro of Bio in PACA as there is for example in Brittany (IBB).
For this, three workshops have been set up and will meet quickly to initially create an open space for discussion on all organic problems with all of the organic players, and then go on to an interpro. It will make it possible to develop organic farming in Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur, with the support of the Region, to make it pass from stagnation to a true economic sector, through a stimulation of research-experimentation, a structuring of networks marketing and promotion of organic.

Jacques-Olivier
Green Regional Councilor
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Chairman of the agriculture-forest-sea commission

[lau]

Organic is great for the environment, for the consumer and for the producer who does not breathe more or much less all these bad pesticides. The sale is guaranteed and the prices attractive.
But we must say goodbye to mass production, may be a solution to overproduction and fallow land. Problems facing certain diseases and pests of certain cultures (eg the codling moth or the melighet on lavender in flower ..)
And the problem of weeding incompatible with expensive labor even if the products sold are profitable.
If there is to be an oil crisis, it will obviously be necessary to thoroughly reform our current agricultural model based on machinery and oil (tractor, harvesting machinery, fertilizer), then integrate new technologies for organic control: current techniques (in my opinion very insufficient on a large scale) see bionynamics with preparations, electroculture or pest control at a distance by radionics.

[phil53]

Hello,
I suggest you sign a petition in favor of BIo which will be presented to the future president
http://action.bioconsomacteurs.org/