REACTION
The National Committee of Organic Agriculture, attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, has decided: the heating of greenhouses, although very energy-intensive, is still allowed for organic. But "there will be no marketing between 21 December and 30 April" of organic fruit and vegetables produced in greenhouses in France, said the ministry. "There can be no counter-seasonality in organic, we do not eat organic products in winter, off-season," he continued.
For Jean-Paul Gabillard, market gardener and spokesperson for the National Federation of Organic Farmers, even if it is not perfect, this new regulation remains a step forward.
"There was strong pressure"
"This is a breakthrough, since until then there was no recommendation, but there are two things that have come in. The first is the date of marketing, and the second is the All organic facilities will have to be renewable energy from 1 January 2020. And those that already exist will have to be renewable before January 2025, "said Jean-Paul Gabillard at the microphone of Europe 1.
"We were campaigning for no heating at all, it was not possible, there was strong pressure, especially from big cooperatives, but heating supervision is still a real step forward," the farmer insists. . Who goes on: "It is important to have a coherent set of specifications, we would have liked a little later than April 30, but until now there was no supervision".