On his farm in the commune of Bergouey-Viellenave in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Félix Noblia raises a herd of Angus and Blonde d'Aquitaine cattle for meat, as well as pigs, grows a variety of cereals and does market gardening. At the Larrous farm, the aim is to use as few inputs as possible and to achieve a high degree of diversity in order to create osmosis between all the elements of life.
When Félix Noblia, after a year of medical studies, decided to take over his uncle's farm, he was faced with a decisive choice: either he perpetuated the pattern of a conventional farm where the dizzying investments put the farmer on a permanent razor's edge, "the pattern towards which everyone is pushed"; or he invented a transition path to limit the risk. But not only does Félix Noblia value his freedom, he is also very aware of climate and biodiversity issues. By the time he had completed a DUT in agriculture, which gave him the ability to farm, he was starting out in agroecology. "When you have an objective of economic resilience, necessity is the law. Agroecology is the only possible approach. In 2008, however, this approach was in its infancy in France. Today, the Larrous farm, in the commune of Bergouey-Viellenave in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, raises a herd of Angus and Blonde d'Aquitaine cattle for meat, as well as pigs, grows a variety of cereals and does market gardening. Four questions to the man who has made his farm a model of coherent agroecology in constant invention.
Agroecology is the set of agricultural practices that make it possible to store carbon, conserve biodiversity, save water resources, preserve human health and be part of a fair economic equation. This means aiming for as few inputs as possible and a high level of diversity to create osmosis between all living elements. At the Larrous farm, all our breeding and cultivation activities are intimately linked to each other in a dynamic biotope. Thus, rotational grazing allows the grass to be reconstituted to optimise the livestock's diet; agroforestry, which puts the tree back into the livestock, allows us to take advantage of the symbiosis between the ruminant's rumen and the thousands of species and micro-organisms present in the trees, particularly bacteria; For their part, the ruminants, via their excrement, enrich the cultivated areas and facilitate direct sowing, which is itself in organic farming; market gardening and pig farming are also complementary, particularly in terms of recycling. It is a whole ecosystem, virtuous, autonomous and alive.
Testing, trying and experimenting, to understand, know and innovate: this is an important part of my day. Knowing the processes is part of the strategy that I call 'opportunistic': I adapt to the hazards, the main one being the weather, and I play on the controllable parameters, such as the choice of a particular cereal when the weather is too dry or too wet. So you have to plan and adapt at the same time. That is also resilience. The great thing about social networks and the internet is that information circulates very quickly between farmers all over the world who want to share their experience of agroecology. This is a huge step forward. For example, did you know that dynamic rotational grazing, which was invented in the 1950s by André Voisin, was not disseminated at the time? This is regrettable.
"What's great about social networking and the internet is that information flows very quickly between farmers around the world."
To name just two: the student must be taught to learn and think for himself, to ask questions. Each farm has its own balance according to its pedoclimatic context, its markets and its environment. Here again, the exchange of information with peers is essential. At the moment I'm exploring the strip-till technique, which comes from the USA and consists of direct seeding on ten centimetre strips. Soon I'm going to bring a bakery unit to my farm, which will make flour and bread for a short sale. You have to reinvent yourself every day. In addition, the training of future farmers must include their mission in the fight against global warming and the preservation of biodiversity. Well thought-out livestock farming, rotational grazing and agroecological cultivation techniques allow carbon to be stored. We have a key role to play.
That they absolutely must study their project well, validate it, design it for maximum resilience and autonomy. This is what I call "derisking the system". It's like bungee jumping. You make it safe. Then, when you have to go, you jump. It's a great adventure.
