Let’s hope that these pretty bells, symbols of happiness and luck, also bring a little to the industry. While tens of millions of sprigs of lily of the valley will be exchanged throughout France in the coming days and especially on Wednesday, May 1st, will we still be able to afford this little white flower with such a sweet scent in 2050?
The question arises when we know that this year again, the dozen producers from Nantes (to whom we owe 90% of the flowers and pots sold throughout the country) have achieved a tour de force, between climatic hazards and shortages. labor shortage which is getting worse. “It’s an increasingly demanding crop, twelve months of work to be ready on the right date,” indicates Thomas Loirat, technical production advisor within the departmental market garden development committee (CDDM). It’s sometimes complicated, but the lily of the valley of 2024 is very beautiful in terms of quality, with very long strands and numerous bells. »
“The poor plants” lost with the weather
Although you will indeed find a small bouquet to buy from your florist, the capricious and unpredictable weather has nevertheless given producers a hard time. “Between the storms of April, the 30°C and then the frosts in the morning, the poor plants have difficulty finding their way,” observes Eric Harrouet, the boss of Lilyval, located in Saint-Julien-de- Concelles (Loire-Atlantique). This year, the picking began at his home on April 13, four days earlier than planned. The conditions were fortunately favorable for the conservation of the flower, that is to say not too hot and with a little wind.
Except that in times of global warming, it’s not easy to say that we manage to save the furniture every time. “We have the tools and the experience of course, but all it takes is one storm to lose everything,” deplores Eric Harrouet, who also fears that thrush will appear earlier every year. If plastic tunnels, then cold rooms, currently allow producers to slow down or accelerate flowering for a few days, it is difficult to imagine strands resting there for several weeks while waiting for May 1st… So much so that some people are even whispering that idea of “postponing” Labor Day, or being able to start the sale from mid-April.
No arms, no thrush
Without that, the sector, established in the Nantes basin in particular for its sandy soil and its suitable climate, could pay the price. The producers of this historic crop previously numbered in the dozens, but their numbers have already withered considerably. “Many are throwing in the towel because financially, it’s more and more complicated,” observes Eric Harrouet. It is a very, very dangerous and expensive crop, where we sometimes invest 1 million euros in advance to wait for the harvest at the end of April. » The federation of Nantes market gardeners wants to be reassuring, ensuring that the production of strands is stable, with the claws (the roots) bought up gradually by those who remain. At Lilyval in any case, the son would like to take over the business but “mentally, he already knows that it will be a lot of stress”.
Because if over the next few years the weather spares the lily of the valley, will there still be enough hands to pick it? Here again, the question has agitated the sector for several years without finding a lasting answer. Every spring, thousands of seasonal job offers struggle to find takers while foreign temporary workers frequently come to swell the ranks of pickers, often at the very last minute. “We need to reconnect with the youngest, to bring them back into the agricultural world,” believes Thomas Loirat. This is important because this traditional culture is one of the few to still be almost entirely manual. »
During Covid-19, losses were considerable due to confinement and closed businesses. And this year, due to lack of labor, thousands of over-flowered and therefore unmarketable sprigs were once again left in the fields. According to the federation of Nantes market gardeners, the annual turnover generated by the production of lily of the valley varies between 20 and 30 million euros.