Bec Hellouin farm: agricultural laboratory for the post-oil era

Charles Hervé-Gruyer, co-founder of the Bec Hellouin farm, makes his own tools. © RFI / Anne-Cécile Bras

By: Anne-Cécile Bras Follow

Culture on hillocks, on planks, forest-garden, island-garden ... since 2006, Charles and Perrine Hervé Gruyer combine different techniques such as agro-ecology, permaculture or organic farming and the ancestral knowledge of the first peoples in their Bec Hellouin farm, located in Normandy, in the west of France.

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The result: extraordinary vegetable productivity without chemical inputs or machine tools. Reportage.

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Summary: It is an oasis, an open-air laboratory nestled in Normandy, in the west of France. The Bec Hellouin farm, created by Charles and Perrine Hervé-Gruyer, is scrutinized by scientists and farmers around the world. Its productivity without any chemical input or machine tool challenges us: would we have been lied to? Isn't industrial agriculture the solution to feed the world? This is already obvious since 80% of the world's food is produced by peasants who cultivate less than 2 hectares. It is for them and for all those who would be tempted by the agricultural adventure that Perrine and Charles innovate with a golden rule: imitate nature. Listen, here's a lesson in cultures!

(Replay of August 2, 2019)

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  • Agriculture and Fisheries
  • Science benchmarks

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