This year, Sica Meylim teamed up with Perlim to form the Perlim Meylim alliance. Patrick Michon, manager of Sica Meylim, is proud to announce that, in March 2019, the 40 producers of the alliance, whose orchards spread over 800 hectares, received the level 3 HEV (High Environmental Value) certification.
Melliferous flowers and insects feast on fallow land near the orchards
Already certified ZPR (Zero Pesticide Residue) and with the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) quality label, the company wanted to go one step further. “We started with getting the HEV certification for one of our largest orchards (100 ha) in November when we realized that the certification matched our current growing practices. We then decided to extend the certification to all of our producers. We generalized mechanical weeding, for example, to all our surfaces. The 2019 harvest will therefore come from growing practices that are entirely devoid of herbicides.”
HEV: an official certification that meets the societal demand
“We wanted the HEV certification for our orchards to distinguish ourselves by meeting a strong societal demand, but also because it is an official certification,” explains Patrick. “Today, there are a lot of private certifications which probably lack recognition. But because this particular certification comes from the Ministry of Agriculture, we think that it will benefit from a strong official recognition.”
A rather successful bet, since the 2019 harvest is already being solicited by supermarkets, which are particularly interested in HEV certified products.
Mechanical weeding
HEV: “A global reasoning rather than a profitability issue”
Of course, all the producers hope for economic outcomes that will compensate for the costs invested to obtain the certification. But according to Patrick, “what matters is to be present on the market with a product of high environmental value. It is not a matter of economic profit, but a much more global reasoning. By obtaining the HEV certification, we are not trying to stick a label on our products in order to sell them at a higher price. Changing practices to be more respectful of the environment is more of an intellectual effort than an economic endeavor. There is always a cost when we want to obtain new certifications, but it shouldn’t affect the reasoning. And in our case, it did not represent a really significant economic effort. It is mostly a state of mind. The most difficult part is to convince others that we will make it. And to the extent that we can reach this level of certification, we will do it.”
For more information: 
Patrick Michon
Sica Meylim
La Meynie
24270 Sarlande, France
Phone: +33 5 53 62 21 40
patrick@meylim.fr
www.meylim.fr