The 2023 season of sweet Cévennes onions is drawing to a close. The last products left the packing station on February 20th. Philippe Boisson, producer of sweet Cévennes onions and president of the cooperative Origine Cévennes, looks back on the campaign and discusses the next season as well as the cooperative's projects.
Sustained trade
"This year was marked by sustained trade and very good feedback on the quality of our onions. This gives us the desire to continue and to find new members, as it would be a shame not to fill those commercial opportunities. Our export sales are steadily increasing, which once again demonstrates the recognition of our product. These positive returns are both the work of the cooperative and the growers, who are much younger than in other French cooperatives."
"The 2023 harvest was very good, thanks to a late spring that provided the onions with the water they needed, and diseases were also contained. The cooperative's average marketed yield was 60 tons," explains Alexis Durand, technical advisor to the cooperative's farms.
Planning the next season and water management
Water management will be at the heart of the next campaign. "In terms of plot irrigation, which is our main problem, the past winter was more wet, so we are off to a better start than last year. We hope to be able to create new rainwater harvesting basins to irrigate our 45 hectares properly and ensure the long-term future of our crop," explains Philippe Boisson. "As for the 2024 campaign, sowing was carried out in very good conditions. The recent heavy rainfall, which varied between 150 and 250 mm, has enabled the storage basins to be filled and river flows to remain at high levels, suggesting a more serene start to the season in terms of water management," according to Alexis Durand. "A major project is underway to build storage basins for runoff water, which is essential for the sustainability of the crop in our region. This project concerns around 25 farms in the region. The outcome is not known yet, and depends heavily on the administrative hurdles we may come up against. There is still a long way to go."
The Origine Cévennes cooperative also markets apples. "Overall, we have received very good feedback for most varieties. We will probably be able to taste the new Inogo variety, cultivated by Christian Gros. Production potential for the upcoming harvest is currently around 200 tons, all varieties combined.
Projects within the cooperative
"We will try to improve our net making machine, which will involve changing the pallet vacuum system. Our aim is to be more reactive when it comes to packaging our products, in order to satisfy our clients. Our system is based on a simple operation: the onions arrive at the cooperative in the morning and have to leave the same day or the next, in order to guarantee the quality of our products."
For more information:
SCA ORIGINE CEVENNES
Route de Valleraugue
30570 St-André-de-Majencoules
Phone: 04 67 82 50 64
originecevennes@originecevennes.com
www.oignon-doux-des-cevennes.fr