Since its takeover in 2016, Midiflore has come a long way, from a small farm to an innovative company at the cutting edge of technology. "At the time, Midiflore produced aromatic herbs in open fields. As soon as we acquired the company, we diversified into edible flowers. And we have now finalized a project that was very close to our hearts: growing aromatic herbs in aeroponics greenhouses."
Year-round French production with aeroponics
This new method of cultivation fills a gap on the market and perfectly meets current societal expectations. "On the French herbs market, there is enough supply in summer, but we import from foreign countries (South Africa, Kenya...) to provide the market in winter. Producing in France under heated greenhouses in the winter is not viable with the current energy costs. Since I took over the company, limiting the carbon footprint and providing quality have always been my concern. Aromatic herbs are particularly fragile and do not travel well, so we end up with a product that has lost all its freshness. Losses can easily reach 50%, the environmental footprint is high, and the product is expensive. I therefore asked myself what alternative solutions existed to provide a year-round product that was grown in France, in a virtuous way, and that could be found on the market at affordable prices and with optimum freshness. We met CleanGreens, a company offering high-performance mobile aeroponics systems managed using new technologies. This system enables us to improve production, provide better and consistent product quality, and grow in a healthy, sustainable and low-carbon way."
Production of 80 tons of aromatic herbs per year in 3,600 m2 of greenhouses
Our investment of 2.5 million euros [2.72 million USD] has aroused the enthusiasm of stakeholders such as the Sud region of France, and the initial results are already very conclusive. "We have been operational for a month now. We have made the first cuts and are very satisfied with the results. Our ambition is to produce 80 tons of aromatic herbs a year in 3,600 m2 of greenhouses. This solution not only enables us to considerably increase the quantities produced, but also frees up fields for the production of edible flowers, the consumption of which is booming. Aeroponics enables us to produce in a very virtuous way, since it requires very little phytosanitary products, and consumes very little water (95% less than in open fields). We are also self-sufficient in energy thanks to the solar panels we have installed. We now have a hyper-virtuous product, that is 100% French, produced under good working conditions, and arriving fresh on the market."
So far, our clients have responded very positively, but it is only in winter that they will really see the difference. "For the moment, we cannot really appreciate yet the added value of this innovative system, but we can already see the quality of the herbs, with leaves that are stronger and denser than those obtained in open fields. The difference will become more obvious from October onwards."
Develop processing to value 100% of the production
The company is now looking to develop processing to add value to 100% of its production. "We can reduce waste by adding value to the herbs that cannot be used in the fresh produce system, in preparations such as pesto for example. To this end, we have acquired a third company and built 500 m2 of new facilities. There is a lot to be done to make the agricultural sector more virtuous and modern. Innovative projects like this one are particularly motivating and appeal to the younger generation of producers. We started out in the fields, and today we are developing an innovative, modern agricultural model. Even our children are interested in our family business to take it over later."
For more information:
Sylvie Recouvrot
Midiflore
[email protected]
https://midiflore.com