In order to respond to environmental issues, François Plassard, a French agricultural engineer and doctor in economics, has created “La Tortue Maraichère”. This ecological aquaponics greenhouse, self-sufficient in energy thanks to its solar panels, is also sheltered from weather hazards and it is economical, saving nearly 85% of water.
Installed in the Aude department in 2020, this floating structure allows for the cultivation of vegetables, fruits, young shoots, fodder, flowers, as well as algae and fish, all of this without fertilizers or pesticides.
© La Tortue Maraichère
In face of the new challenges imposed by climate change, the engineer advocates for a new agriculture. Cultivating on the water is an alternative for the producers faced with high land costs and the salinization of the soils.
© La Tortue Maraichère
“We would like to develop a new profession of “land-sea producers” and a new way of life combining food and health. What life has put in place in the sea is a circular production model based on exchanges between the fish, filter-feeding shellfish and algae, where nothing is lost and everything is transformed,” explains François Plassard, president of Paysans Terre Mer, an association which is experimenting with new agricultural practices on the coast.
For more information:
Paysans Terre Mer
11440 Peyriac-de-Mer
paysansterremer.wordpress.com
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