agreste

Agreste cahiers n° 40 - juin 1999

More than 28,000 French farmers produce fruits.

More than 28,000 French farmers produce fruits. Over half of them belong to three large specialised tree grower categories. About 1,200 large fruit domains, often in the form of corporations, employ many salaried workers on large professional orchards of apple, pear and peach trees. They harvest 40 % of the fruits produced in France. Over 7,200 small family units are also specialised, on a few hectares, in walnuts, cherries or apricots. Besides, other mid-sized units produce citrus fruits, pears and plums, with a workforce consisting mostly of family members. But the majority of fruits producers have another dominant activity. More than 13,000 of them run small farms oriented toward animal production, polyculture or viticulture. In their modest orchard, they harvest 60 % of French walnuts, and a third of French plums and cherries.