How to design, manage and develop a farm according to the principles of regenerative agriculture?
"The ambition of this innovative campus resonates with the Carrefour Foundation's desire to support the food solidarity transition on a large scale."
For more than 10 years, the Danone Ecosystem Fund has been developing inclusive and sustainable agricultural models, accessible to all through projects that promote job creation, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and skills development. In order to amplify HECTAR's impact on future generations of farmers, we wanted to join the project by providing both our expertise in creating agricultural projects with social impact and our financial support.
On February 16th, Hectar accelerator kickoff took place during a day of pitching, workshops and networking at the Hectar Campus... A look back at this inauguration in numbers and images!
Flowers are a powerful ally not only for biodiversity, but also for farmers, who can use them to diversify and make their business model more solid. In 2022, Marie-Laure Wavelet took part in the Tremplin program to build her flower farm project in Marseille. A project she has successfully completed, since she now grows and distributes her flowers locally.
AI is being integrated into many aspects of our daily lives, but in agriculture, what is its concrete application? To demonstrate the usefulness of AI in agriculture, we interviewed Martin Ullmann, founder and CEO of Ullmanna, a startup accelerated in season 4 ofaccelerator Hectar. Ullmanna is an AI-based solution for weeding fields without using pesticides or damaging crops.
Kikleo, a tool for reducing food waste in collective restaurants, has just completed its first round of funding following its acceleration at Hectar to speed up their commercial development and enable new restaurants to save money and reduce their impact. We spoke to Vincent Garcia, co-founder of Kikleo, to find out more about the issues surrounding food waste.
Both engineers in the Oise region, Maddly and Julien decided to change their lives: they headed for the Dordogne to take over the family farm and set up a local dairy sheep and pig farm. Following the Hectar Tremplin program, they agreed to give us their impressions and share with us the details of their project and its evolution.
After a career in agri-food marketing, Caroline set up on a farm to create her own brand of artisanal pasta, Papote. As a participant in season 2 of Hectar's Farm'Her program, dedicated to female leadership, Caroline told us about her beginnings as an agricultural entrepreneur, the creation of her brand and of a product with impact.
Violette Bouyssou, a student at AgroParisTech, used the IDEA4 method to diagnose the Hectar pilot farm. The aim? To assess the sustainability of the arable and livestock farming operations, while simulating the economic, environmental and social impact of a floriculture operation. To find out more about this method, we asked Violette about her mission and the lessons she learned from it.
Jean-Baptiste, founder of Ispiri, wants to bring consumers to the farm. By creating boutiques selling artisanal products on farms, he aims to showcase the work of farmers. To consolidate his project, he drew on the Tremplin program at Hectar, and was able to challenge his business plan and find solutions to adapt to farmers' needs.
Last week, Class 7 of the Springboard program began at Hectar.
More than a year ago, Eliot left his daily life as a cook to completely reorient himself. In the Sauternes region, he found his vocation through a training on the vine and became an agricultural employee in a wine château. From why he decided to change his life to the specificities of his new job, discover his testimony.
In France, 20,000 tons of dried plants are imported per year, even though some of them could be grown in France. But passionate agricultural entrepreneurs like Kim are starting to produce local medicinal plants and are taking action to reclaim the know-how of herbalists and the knowledge of plants.
With her sister and brother, this marketing professional is thinking of taking over the family wine estate in Fronsac. The passage through Hectar Tremplin gave them the key to an economically fair and socially viable project
Théo and Hilaire have joined forces to set up an agricultural project. Yes, but which one? Starting with a piece of land, they questioned themselves, thought, explored, discussed, studied... That's the life of an agricultural entrepreneur! But in the end, what will they do on their farm? We let you discover it in video!
France 3 Paris Ile-de-France came to Hectar! If you missed their report, find it here.
Hectar, the school financed by Xavier Niel, wants to make agriculture more profitable, more attractive, "sexier" through technology. Others in France are already trying.
Christophe Naudin has been appointed to head the 250-hectare mixed farming and dairy cattle farm of the Hectar agricultural campus, created by Xavier Niel and Audrey Bourolleau. He talks to Réussir.fr about his motivations and objectives.
"If I had to do it again, I wouldn't hesitate! Six years after leaving his job as a manager at Bureau Veritas to start raising organic chickens north-east of Rouen, Gaëtan Royer has no regrets...
"We are careful to ensure that the projects meet three criteria: the students will be strongly aware of the social, economic and environmental issues. On this last point, even if we let the candidates choose their mode of production, we make them aware in particular of soil regeneration agriculture."
The co-founder of BlaBlaCar at the head of Hectar, Xavier Niel's agricultural school.
Brut. went to meet HECTAR "When you want to feed yourself in quality and quantity, you have to pay attention to the soil.
"HECTAR does not provide any technical education but accompanies entrepreneurs! (...) HECTAR is complementary. "Audrey BOUROLLEAU
Xavier Niel's Ecole 42 is to set up an innovative training module, Agritech IA, on the Hectar campus in Lévis-Saint-Nom. The aim is to teach young people how to use artificial intelligence to support the agricultural transition.
From Bill Gates to Xavier Niel, why billionaires are putting their feet up.
Presented last February, Xavier Niel's new large-scale project is taking up residence in the fields of the Vallée de Chevreuse.
At the age of forty, she has decided to change her life. Audrey Bourolleau, a former adviser to President Emmanuel Macron, is putting on her farming boots to create, with billionaire Xavier Niel, a vast campus near Paris designed to train the "agricultural entrepreneurs of tomorrow".
Regenerative agriculture includes all practices that improve the capture and storage of carbon in the soil in the form of organic matter, restore soil biodiversity and improve the water cycle.
Did you know that dynamic rotational grazing was invented by a French agronomist in the 1960s?
The reference manual of the American pioneer of regenerative agriculture
This book on regenerative agriculture and animal husbandry by an American specialist details holistic management applied to a cattle farm.
Hectar and Compass have created a low-carbon pilot self-catering facility on the Hectar campus. From starter to dessert, a menu that limits greenhouse gas emissions. With 1 million meals served every day in France, Compass is a key player in the transition to a low-carbon diet. We spoke to Sabine Maillot, Director of Sustainable Development, CSR and Communications at Compass Group, to find out more about this initiative and their commitments.
Launched in 2015, MiiMOSA is the 1st participatory financing platform exclusively dedicated to agriculture and food. Beyond offering an alternative to traditional finance, MiiMOSA is a place for exchange, sharing and solidarity between a community of contributors and project holders in these sectors. Interview with Florian Breton, founder and enthusiastic CEO for whom "small streams make big rivers".
"To help French organic champions emerge".
"Sycomore's teams can see themselves in HECTAR's ambition".
"We are very happy to be associated with HECTAR!"
A meeting with an enthusiast, who reminds us that although the term "agroforestry" was coined in the 1970s, it covers a range of practices on all five continents that emerged in the early days of agriculture.
HECTAR has entered into a partnership with ITK, a high-tech company that explores and offers agricultural monitoring solutions to facilitate livestock monitoring and decision making.
Last Tuesday was Impact Day at Hectar: a day dedicated to startups in the accelerator to pitch and meet with agricultural cooperatives and investment funds of the Hectar ecosystem. On this occasion, we met Elmehdi Amid, VC at Techmind, who explained how a fund specialized in agritech works and gives valuable advice to entrepreneurs who want to launch the impact.
In 5 years, the startup Javelot has become the reference in digital monitoring of grain storage. This is a sensitive subject that affects both the health and economic risks that storage organizations must manage. Félix Bonduelle, sponsor of season 4 ofaccelerator Hectar and co-founder of Javelot, tells us about this entrepreneurial adventure.
Before leaving to raise chickens in Calvados, Gaëlle Bonnieux was an executive in impact finance. In 2019 she changed her life and co-created Gonne Girl, a diversified farm with 1000 laying hens, 2000m² of market gardening, a gite and a horse boarding house. She explained to us how she organizes their many activities and adopted the "lean" method to manage the farm.
Esther is an executive in the marketing department of Campari Group and has a fulfilling professional life. Nevertheless, she has a project to take over the family wine business in the Bordeaux region and has participated in the Hectar Entrepreneur program. Between fears, doubts and ambitions, she confides in us about this life project that will shake up her daily life and that of her family.
Yoan is a coder... in the agricultural sector. Hired after the Agritech program at Hectar in one of the startups of the accelerator, he works with 5 other developers at Aptimiz, a startup that measures, analyzes and optimizes the working time and the equipment of farmers. What role do coders and tech have to play in agriculture? What technological issues and challenges are facing the agricultural sector today? What is the role of a coder in the agricultural sector?
Breeder in Burgundy Franche Comté, Émilien Claudepierre is at the head of a dairy cow farm on 145 hectares. His priority in his work is serenity. Being a farmer and having time for oneself, one's family and one's hobbies is possible. With a well thought organization and a search for added value in his dairy production, Émilien succeeds!
40% of the food we produce is thrown away. Faced with this alarming fact, Lucie Basch decided, 7 years ago, to create Ton Good To Go. Behind the waste, there is also the value we give to what we eat, and to those who produced it, leading to a reflection that no longer impacts only the final consumer but the entire value chain.
"I made the discovery of this new healthy 'sugar' that grows in Peru and I think the French deserve to hear about it." These are the words of Raphaella Nolleau, co-founder of Yacon & co, a startup that just finished its acceleration at Hectar and raised funds to accelerate the construction of their French yacon industry.
A few weeks ago, we learned that Bilberry, a startup alumni ofaccelerator Hectar, had been acquired by the American giant Trimble. From the beginnings of the R&D in France to the development in Australia and the acquisition by Trimble, Guillaume Jourdain, co-founder and CEO of Bilberry, tells us about this international entrepreneurial adventure.
Farmer and coach? It is possible, and Caroline de Champs proves it: after studying agricultural engineering and a specialized master's degree at Emlyon, she worked at CERFRANCE before becoming a farm manager. In 2020, she resumed her activities as a consultant in parallel with her farm and offers professional coaching and training for the agricultural transition.
Fabien Perrot chose the life of an agricultural entrepreneur in 2018 when he took over his father's farm in Germainville, in the Eure-et-Loir. In 4 years, he has transformed the farm into a sustainable operation that is financially viable and employs 5 people full time. In an interview, he tells us about his entrepreneurial journey and gives us some advice on how to succeed in setting up his business.
With a double degree from Sciences Po and a BPREA, Alexia Rey founded NeoFarm in 2018. Her atypical profile between entrepreneurship and agriculture allowed her to take advantage of the best of both worlds: she tells us about her journey and slips in some advice to start her professional adventure in the living sector well.
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