The Fleurs Locales project seeks to lay the groundwork for reclaiming degraded spaces with native seeds and flowers that generate biodiversity. But businesses and beneficiaries can take many forms and interests. We spoke to Christophe, an organic goat and sheep farmer in Villeveyrac, Hérault, Montpellier, who also holds the position of president of the FAB’LIM association.

“As a rancher, what interests me is the recovery of grazing areas. Following the abandonment of human activities, scrublands are being closed, leading to a depletion of biodiversity and a high risk of fire in the southern French Mediterranean, » he explains, insisting on the need to understand that these are long-term projects.

« If we open the scrubland, but then do nothing, in 5 years they will be colonized naturally by woody plants and some vegetation that has no nutritional interest for the animals. In order for the scrubland to be attractive again, it is necessary to open it, maintain its diversity by planting suitable plant materials, which will recreate interest, restore the possibility of carrying out activities (as was the case before) and keep them open.

Vegetation cover in agriculture

For Christophe, the creation of mixtures of native plants is also important for agriculture. « Some nearby winemakers have not fully explored the challenge of vegetation cover. Near my farm there are dwarf clovers that could multiply and would be interesting because they are small (5/6 cm) and would not compete so much with crops. There are also other possible interests for the native plants, in particular the landscaping at the level of the municipalities, for example: to have species more adapted to the Mediterranean means in the roundabouts, or the restoration of quarries, to re-green but with plants able to settle down to long-term and withstand extreme pedoclimatic conditions)”.

The French rancher gives symbolic examples, closely linked to his land and dependent on the complicity of citizens: “Here next door is the Filippi nursery, very powerful. They sell plants for dry gardens; they even sell euphorbias. They make their customers aware of the importance of valuing local plants. It’s important to involve citizens in these challenges as well. »