HOMEA sorting station has been in operation in Navarrenx for over a year now. It is open to farmers from the Piémont Gave geographical area around Navarrenx. Euralis fully supports this project, launched in collaboration with a farmer. For the cooperative, it is an opportunity to fulfil its commitment to farmers, as close as possible to regions.
One year ago, Damien Hayet, a Euralis member farmer, began sorting maize seeds in Navarrenx for farmers in the surrounding area. The Euralis cooperative supported him in this initiative. “Supporting the installation and development of a sorting station at one of our member farms in Navarrenx reaffirms our ambition to invest in our regions and provide an increasingly efficient service for farmers. Since he is a young farmer, we are also demonstrating our aim to support the initiatives of the next generation who represent the farming of the future”, highlights Christophe Congues, Euralis President.
A fully operational sorting station designed to increase its processing capacity
“Since 2023, I have invited farmers from around Navarrenx to use the equipment I developed for them”, Damien Hayet explains. “The programme currently has a capacity of 300 hectares and our aim is to eventually expand to 500 hectares. To ensure efficiency, I recruit 4 to 6 seasonal workers from September to mid-October. Euralis has contractually committed to providing me with crops to sort during the growing season. I need to deliver on these commitments.”
This solution of subcontracting sorting to farmers remains unusual: this operation is usually managed by farmers themselves directly at their farms or by the CUMA network. By providing this service, Euralis and Damien Hayet offer farmers the possibility to avoid investing heavily in their farms. It also helps to save time and tackle labour shortages.
Damien Hayet also took advantage of the construction of this station to embark on a solar energy project with Eurasolis (a Euralis subsidiary specialised in green energy production). The station’s buildings are fitted with solar panels, allowing him to produce green energy and contributing to the resilience of his farm.
“For Euralis, taking part in this project also offers the chance to contribute to the expansion of areas dedicated to maize seed cultivation”, Edouard Lapeze, Area Manager at Euralis’s Agricultural Division, adds. “It therefore encourages farmers to diversify towards another crop which, although demanding from a growing perspective, proves profitable, with a satisfactory value per hectare.” Farmers who produce maize seeds benefit from technical monitoring from Lidea technicians, meaning that they are supported throughout the growing process.
A virtuous project resulting from a three-way collaboration
This project is the result of an effective collaboration between Euralis’s agricultural division (which offers farmers the chance to diversify their crops and opt for maize seeds), Lidea (which supports them from a technical standpoint and refers them to the Navarrenx sorting station) and Damien Hayet (who actually undertakes sorting at his farm, supported by the Lidea consulting technicians). It is a win-win situation for all parties involved.