In Nailloux, near Toulouse, out of the 1,211 ha of used agricultural area, 810 ha are dedicated to organic productions (67% against 6.5% at the national level). The farmers of Nailloux have indeed been converting since 2013-2014. They had committed themselves, back then, to a 5-year regionally-assisted conversion plan.
Their working methods have changed completely, since the production of biological crops is done without the addition of synthetic chemicals: glyphosate, pesticides, insecticides or chemical fertilizers. Farmers weed the fields mechanically to clear the grass that prevents crops from growing. This helps reduce the causes that could lead to the use of pesticides. Besides, they also practice crop rotation.
The agriculture in Nailloux mainly revolves around wheat, soy and sunflower, grown on a large scale. Wheat represents most of the production but flax, chickpeas, lentils and camelina are also grown there. As for sunflower, 80% is intended for oil production, and the rest, the meal, serves as biological animal feed.
The production, once harvested, is sold to a cooperative and distributed in the region for processing: soy milk, sunflower oil, biological bread, vegetarian steaks...Some farmers in the region even developed their own brand, like the “Grenier bio d’Emberbail”, which offers biological cereals and legumes.
Source: www.ladepeche.fr