Benjamin Peter 14:32pm, May 26, 2023

This summer promises to be hot and dry and this may make the land once again more arid than expected. In order to avoid the scenario of water scarcity as last year, a municipality in the Hérault has thought about a plant-based system, to retain the precious liquid and promote an economical agriculture in this resource.

Faced with increasing periods of summer drought, municipalities are thinking about new ways to save water in its daily use. To avoid the situation of the Pyrénées-Orientales, which are completely dry, the city of Mudaison in the Hérault has sought a solution that would reduce the drought.

Europe 1 went to meet a farmer who practices regenerative agriculture. "There are field beans, field peas... We tried several mixtures on the plot," he explains first. Usually, it is grass or a few grasses that Robert Cecchetti grows between his rows of apple trees. But in this plot, he experiments with other varieties that he sows every year to regenerate the soil.

"The goal is to have a much more diverse vegetation cover to recreate the maximum amount of organic matter in the soil. When it rains, when the water stays in the soil instead of going into a ditch because the soil is compacted, it makes it possible to make a living soil that will react more like a sponge," he explains.

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A technique that allows a "less stressed" tree

Pierre-Marie Brizou is responsible for regenerative agriculture at Blédina and supports his farmers. For him, the idea is to limit watering, which here is done exclusively drip to what is strictly necessary. "Soil that is healthy, will infiltrate a large amount of water. The second challenge is to lower the temperature. A covered floor, we have between 15 and 20 degrees less on the ground, "he explains. "So evapotranspiration is going to be decreased, and the temperature is also going to be decreased, the tree will be less stressed."

The group has invested €40 million over the past eight years to train and support these partner farmers by guaranteeing them fixed value chains and prices to encourage them to change their production model.