farmers deplore the end of the ban on organic cultivation in heated greenhouses

This ban, which dated from 2019, was overturned by the Council of State because it did not apply to imported products, to the great dismay of the organic farming sector.

The ban lasted three years. Since 2019, it has been prohibited to market organic fruits and vegetables that had grown in heated greenhouses. Except that the ban did not apply to imported products, the Council of State therefore overturned this ban. Competition will be strengthened and prices will fall. Jonathan Chabert, organic market gardener in Brittany and member of the Confédération paysanne, is disillusioned: “We were between 3.50 and 4.50 euros but we can get tomatoes that cost between 1.10 and 1.50 euros.”

This decision is totally inconsistent in the eyes of the agricultural union. “There is seasonality in vegetablesinsists Laurence Marandola, spokesperson for Confédération paysanne. Producing out of season is contrary to the spirit of peasant agriculture, and even more so organic. There we are squarely in a step backwards which responds to strong pressure from the agro-industry.” There are greenhouses “gigantic”explains the spokesperson, including “heated greenhouses in Brittany in conventional and organic agriculture to produce tomatoes in the heart of winter”.

“What is important is that the rules are common”

For its part, the fruit and vegetable inter-professional association sees no inconsistency in this. The Council of State has only reestablished equality between French and imported products, explains Interfel president Laurent Grandin: “The central question for us is not about the substance, it is up to organizations at European level to judge what is good to put under this organic label. What is important is that the rules are common.”

“Now, the reality of ratatouille-type vegetable production in France, particularly tomatoes, is 90% production in heated greenhouses.”

Laurent Grandin, president of Interfel

at franceinfo

Heated greenhouses which will now be able to accommodate organic crops, which deplores Philippe Camburet, the president of the national federation of organic agriculture (Fnab). “Today, people who already have their greenhouses to produce conventional vegetables will use greenhouse heating to produce organic vegetables. It will be the possibility for them to enter this market segment of which they had been deprived by the 2019 decision”, he regrets. Fnab asked the European Commission to rule on this reauthorization before studying a new legal appeal.