Puy-de-Dôme: pink garlic from Billom, “historic farm”, aims to get an IGP label

2024-09-03 10:10:27

At this time, ears of wheat and corn still dominate Cédric Chalard’s fields around his farm in Reignat (Puy-de-Dôme). But, like his comrades in arms around the regions of Billom, Lezoux and Pont-du-Château (Puy-de-Dôme), this 47-year-old farmer also grows garlic on 5 ha. Cereals occupy almost 90 ha.

“Garlic is a historical crop, my grandparents already had it. The clay soil in the east of Limagne and the good climate are ideal for this crop that usually grows around the Mediterranean basin,” explained Cédric Chalard.

Boost from the road

To promote the revival of this ancestral production, this summer they launched a request for classification as a protected area indication (PGI), with the support of the Puy-de-Dôme Chamber of Agriculture. “The process should take two to three years,” believes Laurent Heinis, operator in Pont-du-Château and president of the federation of garlic producers.

Until now, farmers have been blocked by the existence of such a brand, registered many years ago by one of them, Bilom black garlic, which is exported to Japan. Laurent Heinis said “Inao was slow because the two brands were very close. After a few months of negotiations, however, the combination was agreed. “We helped. The road company APRR paid us 25,000 euros as compensation for the extension of the highway past Clermont-Ferrand, which takes up agricultural land,” explained the President.

Of the 2,500 ha of garlic planted in France, only around thirty are planted around Billom. But, here again, history does not work in favor of Puydôme farmers. Laurent Heinis compares “In the 1960s, before the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Puy-de-Dôme cultivated 2,000 ha of garlic, before specializing in cereals for Limagne, and breeding for top,” compares Laurent Heinis.

Thanks to the IGP classification, Bilom pink garlic can return to the menus of France, which is mainly Spanish garlic (16,000 tons per year) and even imported from China (6,500 tons).