Le Figaro Bordeaux
“
The farmer is very resilient.
You have to adapt or you die
,” says Serge Bergeon straight away.
This motto of the Secretary General of the Departmental Federation of Farmers' Unions of Gironde (FDSEA 33), the engineers who exhibit at the Vinitech-Sifel show have understood it well.
The global event brings together industry players at the Parc des Expositions in Bordeaux from November 25 to December 1, 2022.
Among the inventions presented: the Ventigel device.
Created by Pierre Perrinet from Bordeaux to fight against drops in temperature, the device protects two to three hectares thanks to its ventilation system.
He is the bronze winner of the 2022 trophies. The director of Polypoles, a company initially expert in heating, embarked on this Gironde adventure in 2021 alongside Philippe Ferrier, owner of the Château Duplessis operation.
"
He had the problem, I had a few ideas in mind
," says the 56-year-old Arts et Métiers engineer.
A winning bet.
In 2021, despite the black frosts of April 7 and 8, 90% of the winegrower's production was saved.
The Ventigel device is the bronze winner of the Vinitech-Sifel 2022 innovation trophies. Polypoles / Pierre Perrinet
An effective Bordeaux invention
"
This system already existed
", analyzes Pierre Gaillard, co-chairman of the scientific and technical committee of Vinitech-Sifel which awarded the prizes, "
but what is relevant in the Ventigel tool is its ease of use and its connection easy
”.
Marketed between 26,000 and 29,000 euros depending on the model chosen, a hundred copies of the machine have been sold since it was manufactured in Haillan (Gironde).
It runs on less than eleven liters of fuel oil and eleven kilowatts per hour.
Its inventor hopes to sell twice as much in 2022 by expanding its target to arboriculturists and market gardeners.
Two sectors where the need exists.
After the spring frost of 2022, the Regional Chamber of Agriculture of New Aquitaine identified up to 80% crop losses in certain Ente plum farms.
Carrots, Golden apples and strawberries had also been damaged.
In the sector, “
everyone has their own technique
” to fight against the frost, according to Pierre Gaillard.
In winter, the carrots are planted 40 centimeters below the ground to be less affected by the vagaries of the weather.
Kiwi growers are struggling with sprinkling.
The technique involves creating an igloo shape around the buds, keeping them at zero degrees.
An effective method, but limited by its high water consumption.
Fruit and vegetable producers facing frost
Like compensation after a climate incident, these solutions sometimes look like “
a bandage on a wooden leg
”, explains the president of Invenio, Pierre Gaillard.
He believes that there are still two main avenues to explore on the subject: the genetics of the varieties planted and agrivoltaism, which makes it possible to isolate a field by covering it with solar panels (provided you also accept a loss of luminosity) .
At the time of retiring, the expert from this association of producers specializing in research and development places a lot of hope in the
Viti-tunel “
concept ”.
The cultivation technique which received the special jury prize at the Vinitech-Sifel show is “
a breakthrough innovation
” according to him.
Although unfinished, this system of drop-down tarps occasionally protects crops.
A frequency that allows not to "
modify the ecosystem
".