InVivo supports the Vignerons de Buzet in their agro-ecological and digital transition

InVivo supports the Vignerons de Buzet in their agro-ecological and digital transition

Agrosolutions and Fermes LEADER, subsidiaries of the InVivo Group, supported by VitiREV and the InVivo Foundation, are joining forces to support the cooperative Les Vignerons de Buzet in the ecological and digital transition of their vineyard, by evaluating and quantifying the impact of the actions implemented since 2019 on the 17 hectares of the "New Age" experimental platform.

A wine cooperative pioneer in agroecology

For more than 10 years, the Vignerons de Buzet have been committed to social and environmental responsibility (SER). Their aim is to be part of an ecological transition with the aim of eliminating all synthetic chemical inputs, preserving living soils and having a positive impact on the environment, economy and society.

To achieve this, the group of committed winegrowers on its territory has set up a 17-hectare "New Age" experimentation platform in 2019, combining agroforestry, resistant grape varieties and soft water management.

Deploying the project on a large scale now involves verifying in a measured and objective way the impact and therefore the interest of each of these measures on the winegrowing ecosystem, from the planting of grape varieties to the production of wine.

For Pierre PHILIPPE, General Manager of the Buzet Winegrowers: "This cooperation will contribute to the emergence of agro-ecological technical itineraries that tend towards a vineyard without chemical inputs, i.e. self-fertile and resistant to bio-aggressors; profitable and adapted to climate change. After analysing the data, we will be able to draw lessons from our innovations, identify technical itineraries that will serve as examples and be disseminated within our vineyard and beyond". This project has the support of the New Aquitaine Region and its president, Alain Rousset.".

Long-term support to meet the challenges of tomorrow

Through its dual approach, ecosystemic and statistical, the support of the "New Age" demonstrator will initially take place over a 3-year period, to constitute a large-scale programme, in anticipation of the consequences of climate change and support for the resilience of tomorrow's vineyards.

Dynamic data from sensors positioned in the Buzet vineyard will be monitored and analysed over the course of three years, in order to provide objective information on the performance of this type of viticulture. The evidence provided by the experimentation will be used by the cooperative to convince their members of the validity and effectiveness of the measures.

"This innovative project by the Vignerons de Buzet is an emblematic project for InVivo. It is perfectly in line with our CSR commitments, and is part of a dynamic of improving farming practices in line with the 3rd way of agriculture and with a strong territorial footprint. Moreover, we are delighted that it has also received the support of the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region and its president Alain Rousset. It also benefits from a double support within Bioline, and could be proposed to other cooperatives". says Thierry Blandinières, Managing Director of InVivo.

Agronomic and digital expertise at the heart of support

With its technical and agronomic vision, Agrosolutions provides its expertise to carry out an initial assessment by collecting specific indicators on water, soil and biodiversity. This work will allow us to understand the ecosystem as a whole and will serve as a benchmark for setting up "digital" monitoring using the technologies deployed. Indeed, the LEADER Farm and Buzet Winegrowers teams have selected innovations that will enable them to monitor and understand the experiments underway. These sensors are grouped together in the form of "Kits" made up of three types of technology: a capacitive probe to analyse the impact on the soil, the air and the leaves, a dendrometer to monitor water stress and plant growth, and finally, fixed NDVI sensors to measure the rate of plant cover and the vigour of the vines In total, a dozen kits have been installed and will make it possible to monitor and understand the impact of the experimental methods chosen on New Age, with reference also to the cooperative's other historical estates such as Padère and Gueyze.

A unifying project integrated into its territory

Two large-scale structures are the main supporters of the project, perfectly illustrating the interconnection between agriculture and the territories: the VitiREV programme and the InVivo Foundation. VitiREV, led by the New Aquitaine Region, brings together actors from the region's wine-producing areas to accelerate the phasing out of pesticides by integrating agroecological practices. The Vignerons de Buzet cooperative, with their "New Age" vineyard, fully meets its challenges: producing differently to integrate and protect these living areas.

As for the InVivo Foundation, its ambition is to highlight new agricultural and viticultural models and to place them at the centre of the answers to the challenges of our time (particularly in the fight against climate change and the preservation of biodiversity and natural resources). The foundation is providing funding for the project in order to specify the conditions under which agroecological and agroforestry approaches make it possible to gain resilience in a vineyard, while measuring the co-benefits provided. It is the role of the InVivo Foundation to show, through the inspiring projects it supports, how agriculture contributes to the future of our societies.