The growing value of Lentils –

Sustainability –

The cycle of demand and supply is blowing more and more new life and new ideas into the agriculture sector. Of course, it has always done so e.g. our meat consumption demanded more farmland to be dedicated to feed for the animals and more farms being industrialized in recent decades. But the tide is turning with an ever increasing demand for high protein meat substitute.

Legumes fit the bill. Mogettes have been an essential culinary crop for centuries in the Vendée, but they are not the only legume that is grown here. While they make up for half of the overall cultivation of pulses in our department, lentils, chickpeas and other beans are also part of the equation. The growing demand for lentils factors greatly into the future of agriculture in the Vendée.

Lentils are a sustainability-friendly crop for our farmers. The Vendée climate and the fact that lentils enrich the soil with nitrogen make them ideal for cultivation and crop rotation. The plants don't need fertilizer to do well, and they are quite tolerant of drought which is interesting in the age of climate change and global warming.

The terroir - where lentils are grown and how - contributes greatly to their flavor.

Lentils are sown in the spring together with camelina. This clever technique has an array of benefits. The cameline prevents weeds from growing and can support the weight of the lentil plants, preventing them from sagging. This in turn allows machine harvest. At the end of July both are harvested with huge combines, followed by optical sorting to separate the seeds. To be cost effective, the special machines used in the lentil harvest are shared among the farmers.

The seeds derived from camelina present a valuable crop as well. They are pressed for oil used in cosmetics and herbal medication. High in antioxidants, vitamin E and Omega-3, the oil is also suitable for human consumption with products such as cooking oil. Every hectare-and-a-half of the lentil/ camelina harvest is good for around 500kg of lentils and 140 liters of camelina oil!

Vendéen legumes -including lentils- are collected by the coop CAVAC in La-Roche-sur-Yon and Mouilleron-le-Captif. They work with some hundreds of farmers, allocating well over 3000 hectares of farmland to cultivate nearly 10,000 tons. Participating farmers are guaranteed a fixed price per kilo for their harvests. Millions of Euros are being invested in the harvest, storage and distribution, including initiatives, training, and long-term production goals.

A quarter of that production and harvesting involves organic cultivation by some 80+ farmers, without the use of pesticides (glyphosates) and using natural - in the field - drying techniques. Companies like Jardin Bio have forged partnerships with CAVAC and Vendéen farmers through long-term contracts, fair income, and even development bonuses.

The market price for bio lentils can run 4.5 euros per kilogram. While a fair-trade deal, bio lentil farmers still operate at a loss of some 40% compared to what they could be earning through conventional farming. It is, as they say, the cost of progress and meeting consumer demand. The good news is they only cultivate what they sell, so, there is job security and there is no waste, all of which constitutes sustainability.