EXPERT VOICE - "How I became a neo-agri".

You have been a mentor for several projects in the Hectar Springboard course. What did you want to bring to the learners?

The installation projects were varied: market gardener, nurseryman, farmer-baker, etc. My objective was to stimulate and challenge the applicants to measure the economic viability of their projects. With a more technical part: business plan, dimensioning, territorial diagnosis, marketing, etc. I myself have seen many models and evolved over more than a year on about twenty farms. This allows me to guide them, in accordance with their values, even if I do not hesitate to refer them to other professionals. There is a need to overcome the barriers to setting up. I even made a book* out of it in 2016 with my partner, the one we might have wanted to read before we started!

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In parallel to your coaching activity in France, you are based in the north of Spain: what differences do you observe between the two countries?

There are similar problems on both sides of the Pyrenees, with agricultural professions that no longer attract people and have difficulty in renewing themselves. Even if the image of agriculture is tending to improve in France, it is less so in Spain, where the farming population is still older and the farms are three times smaller on average. There remains a common framework for both countries, European legislation, with the autonomy specific to the Spanish provinces. The players involved in setting up are concentrated in the chambers of agriculture, whereas they are more fragmented in France. This is an advantage if you have alternative projects, as on the French side you will find a network of associations close to your values to help you.

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You practice arboriculture: what would be your advice on this sector in particular?

Like any business, it must be well prepared beforehand. You have to be solid during the start-up phase, draw up a business plan that takes into account the difference in income if you don't take over a working estate. And therefore have a job on the side during the time of the first harvest, which can take from 2 to 7 years. It is also necessary to diversify so as not to be dependent on a single variety, thus avoiding the hazards of climatic conditions and diseases on a single production. This also makes it possible to spread out the harvest periods during the year. One last piece of advice: identify good local nurseries!

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* Neo-paysans, le guide (très) pratique" with Sidney Flament-Ortun.^3rd edition 2020. Éditions France Agricole