Picture credit: Géochanvre – Herbi’Chanvre being used for tomato cultivation
Helping farmers transition away from using plastics could help to maintain healthy soil and adopt sustainable waste management strategies.
We have been speaking with organisations on the front line of innovation in delivering alternatives to plastics – and who are working with farmers to explain their benefits and how to use them effectively.
Liselore Martin is the director of Agronov, an innovation hub in agroecology for the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.
Agronov has a mission to accelerate agricultural transitions by building connections between innovative companies, players in the agricultural sector, and educational institutions, to promote the reduction of plastic use in agriculture.
Liselore says that companies should be leading the way on innovation and offering alternatives to farmers by taking account of what the farming community need and how they work.
She offers the example of hemp mulching, which is heavier than plastic and not initially easy to handle. Farmers need help with how to use it in the field – and why alternatives matter to the environment.
Listen to Liselore talk about how Agronov is helping farmers adapt to a changing environment.
Tiffany Raynaud works in research and development at Geochanvre, a company created with the goal of developing an alternative to plastic mulch commonly used in agriculture – using hemp fibres.
She explains how they make the mulch and what advantages it has over plastics, for example, the ability to use techniques like direct seeding.
She also says working with farmers was essential for their research and development process.
Listen to Tiffany talking about the pros and cons of bio-based alternatives.