In the Verdon Natural Park, the Regain Project combines an ecosystem approach to agriculture 22

The Verdon Natural Park and the Chamber of Agriculture of the alpes-de-haute-provence have one goal in mind with the Regain project: to restore the ecological balance that has been compromised by the post-war agricultural intensification. But before you can take any action, you need to persuade farmers to reconsider or even change their methods.

Sophie Dragon-Darmuzet, who is in charge of the project in the Verdon Regional Natural Park, says, "We looked for a point of convergence between all the problems encountered.". Something that farmers would be interested in.

The issue of the soil then surfaced. It is the main working tool for farmers and the connection between groundwater and crops, so a decline in its fertility is unavoidably having an impact.

The farmers of the Plateau de Valensole are initially invited to a technical day on soil fertility and the use of organic matter using a soil analysis as a starting point. The volunteers subsequently become a part of the "base of the approach" network known as Sol.

The option to conduct soil analyses is then presented to them in an effort to increase their awareness. 28 farmers are the subject of the first analyses.

Their soils typically contain little microbial biomass and little organic matter. The eroded soils have little ability to withstand rain.

However, these analyses also allow for a comparison between the methods used by each party and the outcomes. Furthermore, to already draw some conclusions.

As a result, we understand that people whose soils contain lavender straw compost—obtained at the end of the production of essential oils—have richer soils. "There were other farmers who decided to plant grass in between the rows of lavandin after noticing that their soil was eroding.

For them, the analysis' findings held great interest because they revealed more vibrant, fertile soils with fewer health issues like outbreaks of leafhoppers, those minuscule cicadas that annihilate lavandins. It appears that this vegetation cover restricts their ability to move around.

Two years later, in 2019, new studies are being conducted. More than two thirds of the farmers under observation have altered their practices. And already, according to Sophie Dragon-Darmuzet, "two thirds, even three quarters of the farmers monitored have changed their practices.".

After that, adding organic matter and planting plant cover may be necessary. The impact will be revealed by a subsequent soil analysis conducted in 2023.

A group of seven farmers, including both organic and conventional farmers, made the decision to form the Economic and Environmental Interest Group (GIEE) at the same time in order to advance their testing of novel practices through more thorough and routine analysis. The PNR du Verdon is what gives this group its energy.

"We are working, for instance, on the selection of plant species that make up the plant cover, the occasion when it is necessary to destroy them, their maintenance, and this, in order to identify very efficient practices.". Other issues are addressed, each with a project leader, from this common base that is the soil. Hedge planting, input management, irrigation.

By planning the planting of roughly ten kilometers of hedges between 2016 and the present, the Verdon PNR is thus addressing the issue of biodiversity as well. hedges that provide shelter and food for a variety of animals; they also have the advantages of preventing soil erosion and purifying the air.

The hedges are always made up of about twenty plant species that have been tailored to the requirements of the farmers in order to bring about all these advantages. "Some request trees from us so they can be shielded from the wind.

Some people prefer bee varieties and have beehives. For its part, the alpes-de-haute-provence chamber of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Canal de Provence company, is a leader on the topic of water quality and also provides support for it with regard to irrigation-related issues.

Fabien Bouvard, project manager for the Chamber of Agriculture of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, states, "Our goal is to make the water drinkable again.". And this is done by using fewer chemical inputs, such as pesticides and fertilizers that are high in nitrogen and thus contribute to nitrate pollution.

Work was done first on crops of durum wheat, which require more inputs, and then on lavandin. "We measure the amount of nitrogen in the soil and recommend adjusting the supply of fertilizers accordingly.".

Five bulletins are released annually by the Chamber to share the knowledge it has amassed, particularly regarding lavandin, for which there is still little understanding of fertilization. We are working together to advance our understanding of this topic with the help of the Regional Interprofessional Center for Experimentation in Aromatic and Medicinal Perfumed Plants (CRIEPAM) in Manosque.

Crop diversification has benefits for the environment and the economy, according to Fabien Bouvard, who estimates that out of the 250 farms in the Plateau de Valensole, "about 50 farmers are monitored as part of the Regain project.". And gradually, the group of partners that they are surrounded by grows.

After tackling the restoration of the Valensole plateau's ecological balance, the Regain project now has a new goal: to assist farmers in crop diversification by selecting crops with low input requirements. A countermeasure to specialization, which makes businesspeople overly reliant on market fluctuations as well as the need to protect soils and groundwater; provided that crops adapted to geological, climatic, and economic constraints are found.

Making use of subject-matter experts is implied by this. We've formed a partnership with the Duransia agricultural cooperative that enables us to precisely pinpoint the markets for each kind of crop.

Technical partners by its side include an agricultural technical institute called Arvalis or the Group of Organic Producers of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. All the crops that can be incorporated into the rotations of farmers on the Valensole plateau have not yet been determined by the partners.

However, Sophie Dragon-Darmuzet is able to list a few right away. Legumes, which are high in vegetable proteins and whose plants aid in the fixation of nitrogen in the soil, serving in a manner similar to that of green manure, will be present. Examples of such legumes include lentils, chickpeas, and beans.

"We are also thinking about testing less common crops, in a more prospective way, like millet or sorghum," which are cereals primarily consumed in Africa that use little water but could be incorporated into our diets in the future. More than five years after its inception, the project is gaining more and more notoriety on the Valensole plateau. The ecological transition will federate or it won't happen.

Organic and conventional farmers who are very different from one another are brought together, and they are able to communicate without too many barriers. Collective effort makes things move more quickly.

The success of such projects, in the opinion of Sophie Dragon-Darmuzet, depends on the collective. "It is important to work between complementary actors, public, private, from research Without the Chamber of Agriculture, for example, we would have had difficulty approaching farmers because the Park is more associated with restrictions, prohibitions," she added. Another strength, in her opinion, is the fact that the ground was chosen as the starting point.

Because it allows for simultaneous responses to multiple issues, it serves as a useful rallying point. It does, however, have some restrictions.

Practices are progressively evolving. It takes a long time to transform a whole territory.

It's frustrating because there is a pressing need to protect the environment and biodiversity. Additionally, despite an increase in soil fertility, the quality of the water is not improving.

The pollution there is caused by a molecule that has been illegal for 20 years, which is quite depressing to know. Additionally, to put things in perspective, "what we are doing prevents the problem from getting worse and will make it last less time.".

Whatever the case, the project is imitated. Our company was contacted by the Monts d'Ardèche Natural Park.

And Regain has every intention of continuing to plant the seeds of a sustainable agriculture in other areas of the Verdon Natural Park. This agriculture will be more considerate of natural balances. while the need to protect the environment's biodiversity and climate is critical.

Additionally, despite an increase in soil fertility, the quality of the water is not improving. The pollution there is caused by a molecule that has been illegal for 20 years, which is quite depressing to know.

Additionally, to put things in perspective, "what we are doing prevents the problem from getting worse and will make it last less time.". Whatever the case, the project is imitated.

Our company was contacted by the Monts d'Ardèche Natural Park. And Regain has every intention of continuing to plant the seeds of a sustainable agriculture in other areas of the Verdon Natural Park. This agriculture will be more considerate of natural balances.

while the need to protect the environment's biodiversity and climate is critical. Additionally, despite an increase in soil fertility, the quality of the water is not improving.

The pollution there is caused by a molecule that has been illegal for 20 years, which is quite depressing to know. Additionally, to put things in perspective, "what we are doing prevents the problem from getting worse and will make it last less time.".

Whatever the case, the project is imitated. Our company was contacted by the Monts d'Ardèche Natural Park.

And Regain has every intention of continuing to plant the seeds of a sustainable agriculture in other areas of the Verdon Natural Park. This agriculture will be more considerate of natural balances. No progress is being made in the water quality.

The pollution there is caused by a molecule that has been illegal for 20 years, which is quite depressing to know. Additionally, to put things in perspective, "what we are doing prevents the problem from getting worse and will make it last less time.".

Whatever the case, the project is imitated. Our company was contacted by the Monts d'Ardèche Natural Park.

And Regain has every intention of continuing to plant the seeds of a sustainable agriculture in other areas of the Verdon Natural Park. This agriculture will be more considerate of natural balances. No progress is being made in the water quality.

“It's quite discouraging to know that the pollution present there is due to a molecule that has been banned for twenty years”. And to put things into perspective: “what we are doing avoids making the problem worse, and will allow it to last less time”.

Whatever the case, the project is imitated. Our company was contacted by the Monts d'Ardèche Natural Park.

And Regain has every intention of continuing to sow, in other sectors of the Verdon Natural Park, the seeds of an agriculture that is more respectful of natural balances, and necessarily more sustainable. The issue won't get worse as a result of our actions, and it will go away sooner.

Whatever the case, the project is being imitated. Our company was contacted by the Monts d'Ardèche Natural Park.

And Regain has every intention of continuing to sow, in other sectors of the Verdon Natural Park, the seeds of an agriculture that is more respectful of natural balances, and necessarily more sustainable. The issue won't get worse as a result of our actions, and it will go away sooner.

Whatever the case, the project is being imitated. Our company was contacted by the Monts d'Ardèche Natural Park.

And Regain has every intention of continuing to sow, in other sectors of the Verdon Natural Park, the seeds of an agriculture that is more respectful of natural balances, and necessarily more sustainable.

The Verdon Natural Park and the Chamber of Agriculture of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence have one goal in mind with the Regain project: to restore the ecological balance that has been compromised by the post-war agricultural intensification.