LE JARDIN DE L AVENIR

Transcription

1 LE JARDIN DE L AVENIR General description of the SME The organic farm was founded in 1974 by G. Petiteau and open for pickyourown activity. At that time, the name Jardin de l avenir was given to the farm. In 1990, a shop was created in the farm building and open 3 times a week. In 2004, with the arrival of 2 new partners, 2 linked SMEs were created based on their main activity (and therefore fiscal status): Le Potager Bio (the Organic Vegetable Garden), in charge of the production, sells to: Le Jardin de l avenir (Garden of the future), in charge of the commercialisation (new shop constructed in 2004). Both SMEs have a commercial legal status ( SARL, literally: anonymous society with limited responsibility) with the same 3 associates of whom 2 are directly in charge of production and commercialisation. The new partners had an experience in big companies and were looking for a more meaningful professional activity. Moreover, they had a complementary experience in agricultural production and marketing. The organisation is commercial and focuses on the production and commercialisation of organic vegetables. The farm employs 5,5 employees (4 permanent and 1,5 seasonal) and one associate whereas the commercialisation activity employs 4 permanent and 2 parttime employees and one associate. Description of productive activities The size of the farm is 14 ha of which 9,5 ha or 8.500m² of plastic tunnels, is used to produce mainly common vegetables, some herbs and some cut flowers. All the production is certified organic. The main activity is agricultural production and product sale through a farm shop and pickyourown. The farm also welcomes about 25 visits per year from school classes. The company does some technical innovation, especially selfconstruction of adapted equipment in cooperation with other organic growers. The other activities are composting and energy production through 150m² of solar cells on the farm shop roof. 80% of the production is sold on site.

2 Location and environmental factors The agroecological conditions are very suitable for vegetable production: there is a very specific local climate, very mild, superficial sandy soil but with low level of organic matter, the water is easily available from the Loire river and due to a pipe network built in the 60s for the area s agricultural needs. The SME owns 6ha and rents another 8ha. It is situated in an area specifically designed as agricultural zone dedicated to horticultural production (constructions prohibited even more strictly than regular agricultural zone). It is located in the periurban area of Angers (Fig. 1 and 2). The closest housing is at less than 100m. The surrounding housing consists mainly of individual houses. The customers reach the SME by car, from the surrounding 5 km area. No precise study has been done, but the customers are mostly from the higher socioprofessional class as the products require quite a high income. Title : Jardin de l avenir in the periurban horticultural area south of Angers

3 Title: Location of Jardin de l avenir in the agricultural zone but close to housing area. Markets and marketing Key participants Key activities Employees Associates (3) Production and Direct relations with sale of organic customers vegetables Responsibility Quality of food Faith in the project Key resources Confidence in the Employees products and the Healthy soil for growers vegetable Shopping as a production pleasure Time Products freshness Cost categories Workforce (30%) Seeds and transplants Key participants: Value proposition Customer relations Market segments Direct relations 80% direct with customers 100% local basis of the SME Marketing channels 50% pickyourown 30% farm shop + 1 customer market 20% organic wholesaler (local organic shops) Revenue sources Direct sales of organic vegetables UE subsidy (organic production)

4 Employees are key participants. The SME would like to improve their time management skills as it is a key factor. The local government is an important but indirect participant as the main role is land planning (agricultural status of the zone). Key activities: Production and sales of organic vegetables (other products are sold in the shop) Key resources: Time is a critical resource as the organic production requires a high level of human labour, and many productions are managed at the same time. Complementary competencies of the associates: agronomy & production, marketing and finances The SME does not have any formal exchanges with neighbours, except for some informal discussions and equipment exchange. The SME benefits from the technical advice of the local organic growers association. It has informal discussions in a regional group of actors focusing on pickyourown activity. Otherwise they receive no specific support. Value proposition: Contacts with customers through direct marketing of organically produced vegetables give sense and confidence in the activity. Customer relations: Only informal relations. The SME does not target specific customers. Consumers are mobilized thanks to the local and organic production and direct contact with the SME people. Market segment: Customers are mostly from the higher socioprofessional class. They come for the contact and product quality (freshness, taste, security). Before, customers came for the direct sale of vegetables, but now, they mostly come because of the organic production (80%?). The SME produces only for the local market even with indirect sales through organic shops. Marketing channels: They have no marketing strategy nor do they use social media. Marketing is mostly done by word of mouth. The SME does rarely advertise but that depends on the opportunity and cost. However, organised school visits help to recruit parents as new customers. There is sufficient customer growth and the challenge is to produce enough for the current customers. Cost categories: Factors to help reduce costs include a better work planning, partial mechanisation and simplified growing procedures Revenue sources: No other financial support than production activity and a small subsidy from the European Union. The turnover is about 330 k (pickyourown : 50%).

5 Conclusion An important success factor is that the associates come from different sectors with various professional backgrounds which are very complementary. Also, they did not start from scratch as the activity already existed with regular customers and founded by a precursor of organic farming. The biggest limitation/challenge is to technically perform well on a wide range of vegetable species. The skills that this requires include various production techniques, time management and entrepreneurship. The SME is fully sustainable with the stable and full involvement of the associates, and a growth in activity. The organic production is well managed, with still some land available. The soil health and fertility is probably a major concern with the careful management of soil pathogens and nematode risk. The prerequisite for sustainability is to be able to valorise the products and their quality, leading to a limited quantity. The future of the SME is linked to the periurban agricultural zone which can be subject to urbanisation pressures. The growers are organised in an association and will work on land availability to attract new growers and therefore confirm the agricultural future of the area. Contact details: The URBAN GREEN TRAIN project has been funded with the support of the European Union and the Italian National Agency for the Erasmus+ Programme. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the European Union and the Italian National Agency for the Erasmus+ Programme cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.