In Fitou (Aude department), a grower is experimenting with a new crop: organic aloe vera. After five years of research, he has just harvested his first crop from a plot located between the Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales departments, with six people dedicated to picking.
Faced with drought - with rainfall in some years falling below 250 mm instead of the usual 500 to 600 mm - and the collapse of the local wine market, the grower is looking to diversify into more buoyant markets. Aloe vera, which is only sensitive to frost below -2°C and requires very little water (up to fifty times less than vines), seems to be a crop better suited to the basin's climate.
The first production run should enable just over 4,000 bottles of aloe vera drinks to be sold, flavored with lemon or pomegranate and certified organic, of course. The aloe vera is processed directly on the farm and packaged at Sibio's premises in Thuir (Pyrénées-Orientales). A new sector could be emerging, as a dozen farmers are also preparing to plant pomegranates. The first bottles will be distributed locally, between Narbonne and Perpignan.
Source: leparisien.fr
