Beet It

• Conventional sugar beet production relies on tillage, which leads to soil erosion and reduced fertility, highlighting the need to transition toward more sustainable practices.
• A significant share of organic sugar is imported from outside the EU, generating a considerable carbon footprint.

This program aimed to create the technical, economic, and organizational conditions for a successful transition to regenerative agriculture in northern France. The key actions undertaken included:

• Developing regenerative agriculture practices such as reducing tillage and limiting the use of chemical products.
• Co-building a sustainable economic model.
• Disseminating knowledge and feedback about the project.

This program contributed to the launch of a payment for environmental service in the “Hauts-de-France” region with the water agency Artois-Picardie. This is innovative financing, combining public and private funds. The goal is to compensate farmers committed to regenerative agriculture for risks they have taken, as well as to pay them for the ecosystemic services generated by changing their agricultural practices.