25 May 2023 – Afterwork “Agriculture: innovation and prospects”

On 25 May 2023, the AGREEN LAB'O Village by CA hosted an afterwork on the theme of "Agriculture: innovation and prospects". This event was organised by AGREEN LAB'O Village by CA and AgreenTech Valley.

Participants were able to attend an inspiring conference combining the visions of 3 committed agricultural players:

• Arnaud QUATREHOMME, director of the Crédit Agricole Centre Loire.
• Xavier GIRARD, head of the agronomy department at the Chambre d'agriculture du Loiret.
• Rémi DUMERY, director of the Cerfrance Alliance Centre and member of AgreenTech Valley's Leading Farmers Club.

The discussions focused on their vision of agriculture today and their views on the contribution of technology to tomorrow's agriculture.

 

According to Arnaud QUATREHOMME, the major problem facing agriculture today is "finding buyers [for farms] and making them last". He adds: "The priority is to keep the human element".

Xavier GIRARD agreed with Arnaud on the issue of farm transfers, pointing out the value of new technologies in "helping to make farming more attractive to young people" and "lightening the administrative burden" for farmers. He also mentions the challenge of managing water and plant protection products.

Rémi DUMERY brought the debate to a close with a historical review of the agricultural revolutions and technical explanations of the principle of plant photosynthesis, which creates the energy that farmers need to carry out their activities. With this in mind, he stressed the importance of "finding alternatives to fossil fuels to power our machines".

Finally, as Rémi is an active member of the FranceAgriTwittos (@RemDumDum on Twitter), he deplores the attitude of the traditional media, which he believes helps to convey a demeaning image of farmers by spreading negative clichés.

Nicolas MANIEZ, R&D innovation project manager at AgreenTech Valley, and Anthony DUMAS, Project Manager at AGREEN LAB'O Village by CA, led the discussions. After a presentation of the latest news from our respective networks, participants were able to deepen their discussions over cocktails.

And for you, in 30 years' time, wheat/rapeseed or citrus/olive in the Centre region? Agriculture in the metaverse or on the land? 😉