When pomegranate brings new perspectives to local agriculture

Benjamin Mangin and Sébastien Vaissade, pomegranate ambassadors. Midi Libre – JEROME MOUILLOT

Health, flavors, colors, the pomegranate has more than one trick up its sleeve. Midi Libre – JEROME MOUILLOT

Après les vendanges, voici venu le temps de la récolte des grenades. Midi Libre – JEROME MOUILLOT

In the heart of Hérault, the pomegranate is making a place in the sun. A complementary crop to that of the vine and the olive.

“We work with pomegranates in pastries, ice creams…”, explains Benjamin Mangin, a chocolate maker and ice cream maker in Clermont, with his father Bernard Mangin, owner of the Chocolaterie du Blason. When it comes time to plan the production of 300 pomegranate ice cream logs for Christmas, “organic and local”, the artisan is savouring a fruit that inspires“very fresh, very subtle sorbets with extraordinary colours that tend towards pink, red, it's very surprising. And it's essential for ice cream”.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

A rise in production

In Clermont, Le Blason is now one of Sébastien Vaissade's die-hard customers. For three years, once the harvest is over, the winegrower based in Liausson has been harvesting pomegranates. Because, in addition to its undeniable taste qualities, the fruit is a guarantee of many health benefits (antioxidant in particular). Highly sought after by sportsmen, it is also a promising asset for farmers who see, with this new sector, serious prospects for diversification in a context of global warming. “Today, I produce about a ton per year, but I plan to increase the volume with new plantations (up to 10 tons) to be able to make fruit juices with a “health” range and a tasting range, perhaps in addition to other fruit juices”, reveals the farmer who is also an administrator of the Federation of Pomegranate Producers of the South*.

An asset for agricultural resilience

In our regions, after the historical cultures of vines and olives, that of the pomegranate is also taking root. “This product offers great resilience in relation to the climate. For the moment, it is a niche market, I am not saying that in 10 years, 200,000 hectares of pomegranate trees will replace the vines, but, for agriculture to be sustainable, it is part of diversification.” Et opens up the field of possibilities in addition to traditional crops. Not forgetting that pomegranate production is, “par excellence, zero pesticides” and that the fruit tree, native to Persia and Armenia, is well adapted to drought. It remains that, to further develop this emerging sector in the Heart of Hérault, a pressing tool would be very useful. “Today, pressing can only be done in Thuir or by a few rare individuals, such as in Bagnols”, explains Sébastien Vaissade. In the Heart of Hérault, a dedicated project could make its mark.

In ten years, pomegranate production has exploded

Still confidential ten years ago, in the South of France, pomegranate production is today “at least 550 tonnes recorded per year, without being exhaustive”, estimates Pierre Colin, founding president, in 2014, of the Federation of pomegranate producers of the South (FPG South). Resilience of the crop in relation to global warming, the "sector has taken off. The popularity rating of the pomegranate is strong. The juice has interesting proven antioxidant and anti-cancer properties…" Beyond these benefits, in Languedoc Roussillon, ” we face the challenge of producing a juice that is as tasty as possible. First, we had to find good varieties to make the best possible juices because, as winemakers, as soon as we put a product in a bottle, we are inevitably faced with a consumer who appreciates the taste qualities as much as the health benefits”. In addition, for the winemaker based in Pinet, (AOP Picpoul de Pinet), diversification has also made it possible to enhance land that was not classified as an appellation, “I wanted to create my own added value. In 2012, I discovered that I was not the only one. Hence the idea of ​​bringing these farmers together and it was the Hérault Chamber of Agriculture that did the work of animation for this. And we created the federation in 2014.”