Appeared less than twenty years ago, pei organic farming faces a private local market that is still limited and a public market that is still not very open. It not remain that, supported by public authorities, the sector is becoming structured and has the wind in its sails, especially among young farmers. In Reunion as elsewhere, organic opens the way to the agriculture of the future.
The latest inventory of organic agriculture in Reunion dates from before the current increase in production costs. Produced by the Department of Agriculture, food and forestry in Reunion (DEAF), it gave rise to a publication by Agreste Réunion in October 2019. " Currently, almost one in two agricultural installation projects has an organic component”, underlines, in his introduction, the author of the study, François Létoublon, head of the Statistical and Economic Information Service (OPERATE). If most of the way remains to be done for organic agriculture in Reunion, the one covered deserves to be noted, as this study shows. The year 2005 is considered to be the year of birth of organic farming with the creation of the Organic Farmers Group of Reunion Island. (GAB-974). Thirteen years later, fin 2018, 1,272 hectares were cultivated organically, i.e. 3% of the agricultural area of Reunion. In 2021, the Chamber of Agriculture counted 382 organic farming operations (out of a total of 6,900 farms).In mainland France, it was in the 1960s that the first organic productions were launched, and, according to a report from the Court of Auditors, 10,3% of agricultural areas are currently cultivated organically.
A sector that is getting into working order
The local organic sector has begun to structure itself with the birth of around twenty AMAPéi, created to bring together producers and consumers on the AMAP model (associations for the maintenance of peasant agriculture) in a city. An initiative of the association for the promotion of organic agriculture (OPENS) supported by the Department which organizes, otherwise, organic markets. Other findings : all fruit and vegetable producer organizations now have an organic offer. Uprobio, first cooperative of organic producers born in 2019, has around thirty members. Le GAB-974, his, has around forty members. All the research and development infrastructures of Reunion Island (technical institutes, research centers, chamber of agriculture) work on the agronomic and economic issues of local organic farming. The sugar cane sector itself is currently carrying out experiments with organic cane. The two main national certification bodies, Certipaq and Ecocert, are present in Reunion.
Organic little used in collective catering
Supported by European aid and the tax incentive of the tax credit, the development of organic agriculture is part of a list [objective heading is pleonasmic limit] set by the government : the Ambition Bio plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and, regarding collective catering, the Egalim law of 2018. This provides for thresholds to be achieved in “quality and sustainable products” and in organic products” in meals served by January 1, 2022.. Thresholds which have been revised downwards for the overseas departments. In the meeting, the objectives are 25% “quality and sustainable products” and 5% organic products in 2022, with progression to respectively reach 35% sustainable and 10% organic in 2030. Considering this year's figures, suffice to say that we are far from the mark. The DAAF has indeed made a local progress update on the application of the Egalim law in the last quarter of 2021. Two thirds of collective restaurants offer organic food on their menus, but this still represents only a minimal part of the meals. Due to lack of other figures available, the indicator is based on the amounts of organic purchases compared to the total amount of food purchases from collective restaurants. Result : private collective catering (company restaurants) is the most advanced with 2%, public collective catering (educational establishments, army, etc.) around 1%. Positive point however : the share of local products in collective catering purchases, 40 %, has become very significant (see also Run’Alim, p 14).
