1. +
ISARA Tutor: Pr. Jacques Godet
NMBU Tutor: Pr. Tor Arvid Breland
External Tutor: Corentin Moriceau, la Berthe
farm
Valentin Barberoux
MsC Agroecology 2013-2015
Date: 15/10/2015
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF
SMALL SCALE ORGANIC
FARMING IN MID-RANGE
ALPINE CONTEXT
A Case Study implemented at
la Berthe Farm, Savoie,
France

2. +
Contents
 Introduction
 Objective
 Research Questions
 Material and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Conclusion

3. + Introduction
Organic AND intensive small-scale
farming
 Agroecology: science, practice and movement promoting
sustainable agriculture through a sustainable rural
development (Wezel & al.)
 Thesis based on agroecological way of vegetable farming
 2 models of intensive organic vegetable farming
 Jean-Martin Fortier: Canadian vegetable grower
 Bec Hellouin farm: Study about productivity
50000euros/1000m2

4. + Repartition of the organic farming into the
different farming sectors of the Rhone-Alp
Region (Agreste, 2010)
19
16
1612
9
5
5
4
4
3
3
2 2
0.3
Multicrops and cattle
Vineyard
Fruit Trees
Cereals
Milking cows
Aviculture
Goats
Vegetables
Diverse herbivores
Meat cows
Horticulture
Sheep
Apiculture
Pigs

5. +
Objective
Analysis of yield data for testing economic
performance of small-scale organic
vegetable farming under mountainous
conditions

6. +
Research Question
 What is the strategic farm management followed by the farm?
 Can small-scale organic farmers make a living out of their
production according to the methods studied?
 What benefit can they produce out of 1200m2 at a second year of
gardening?
 How can this benefit be increased?

7. +
Material and Methods
 Material
 The intentional community of la Berthe
 Terraces and compost
 Methodology
 Collection of data
 Comparison with other vegetable growers

8. +
Case Study as Material
La Berthe Intentional Community
 Intentional community of 10
people since 2012
 3 farming activities
 Partnership with Terre de
liens

9. +
Location of la Berthe farm
• 500m of altitude
• Northern part of Chartreuse mountain range

10. +
Farming context
Environmental conditions of la Berthe farm
Positive points Negative points
Good soil quality
Loam-silt soil--> can dry easily, getting
compact and hard to plow (not a
problem because of compost cultivation)
Loam-silt soil--> rich and good drainage
Silt dominancy--> higher risk of crusting
phenomenon
Deep and fresh soil (especially in the
lowest pastures)
Slope makes mechanization
complicated
Balanced meadows (with melliferous
and forage species)
Mountainous area with shorter season
for vegetables
Concentration of plots around the farm
buildings Acid and Ca-poor soil
Vegetable growing area well protected
from wind and with good sun orientation
Many isolated trees and high bushes
 Rich environment but farming management has to be well designed

11. +
Compost and terraces
Compost Terraces
• Pasture never plowed
• High quantity of compost available
• Garden in slope

12. +
Planning of the year 2015
February
Start of the
season
Re-covering of
the greenhouses
March
First raised bed
installation
First seeding
April
First seeding
outside
May
First market
June
Beginning of high
marketing season
All raised beds set up
July
August
New gardens
set up starting
September
October &
November
End of season
Season of 9 months and 3 months holidays
Results

13. +
Methodology
 Qualitative analysis
 Assessment of the vegetable farming strategy
 Quantitative analysis
 Collection of data on field
 Harvest yield noted crop by crop at every harvest
 Comparison with other vegetable growers
 ADABIO
 Jean-Martin Fortier

14. +
Results
 Economic performance
 Crop density
 Rotation speed
 Low charges
 Qualitative assessment of the
vegetable farming strategy
 Data Analysis
 Harvest results
 Comparison with Jean-Martin
Fortier
 Comparison with ADABIO
 Quantitative assessment of la
Berthe production

15. +
Economic performance
High crop
density
High
rotation
speed
High
profitabiity
Low
charges
Strategy based on the Canadian vegetable grower Jean-Martin Fortier
Results

16. +
Economic performance
Crop density
Comparison of crop density between la Berthe farm
and ADABIO Comparison of crop spacing (cm)
Crop La Berthe ADABIO
Onion 15X17 25X16
Leak 15X15 15X70
Garlic 15X15 15X30
Carrot 4X8 3X20
Turnip 10X12 8X25
Beet root 15X12 8X25
Eggplant 45X30 100X50
Pepper 23X30 50X70
Tomato 23X80 50X70
 Crop density is always higher at la Berthe compared to ADABIO
Results

17. +
Economic performance
Rotation speed
Results
- Rotation planning well thought
- Optimization of surface use
From 0 to 2 rotations per
year on each raised bed

18. +
Economic performance
Low charges
Annual charges 2015 (euros) for 1200m2 cultivated
Water 1000
Material 1000
Seeds and plants 2300
Car 1000
Manure 300
Total 5600
Essentially due to manual work and no tractor
No salaries taken into account in the charges
Results

19. + Data Analysis
Crops Yield
La Berthe
Yield
Fortier
Unit Ratio B/F
Beet roots 80 140 bunch 0.6
Tomatoes 31 62 kg 0.5
Eggplants 14 26 kg 0.5
Melons 3 1 fruit/plant 3
Cucumbers 50 102 unit/week 0.5
Chards 79 133 unit/week 0.6
Peppers 57 107 unit/week 0.5
Turnips 45 178 bunch 0.3
Onions 120 160 kg 0.8
Spinaches 24 31 kg 0.8
Radishes 91 267 bunch 0.3
Zucchinis 44 89 kg 0.5
 La Berthe yield is 50% of Fortier’s on average

20. +
Comparison of climate between la
Berthe and J.-M. Fortier’s farm
Comparison climate La Berthe Fortier
Location
Saint-Franc, Savoie,
France
Saint-Armand, Québec,
Canada
Latitude 45°29'N 45°02'N
Annual Precipitation 1221mm 929mm
Average temperature (°C) 6.5 6.7
Annual sun hours 1870 1904
pH (soil) 5.54 6.5
Soil Silt and sand
Altitude 550m sea level
Liming and
Fertilization
Gross carbonate in 2014,
Guanor (N6-P3-K1) in
2015, 3kg/raised bed
before first rotation,
4kg/raised bed before
second rotation
Chicken manure (N4-P4-
K2) (5 to 7 liters/raised
bed) and marine compost
Results

21. +
Discussion
Yield comparison
 Yield of la Berthe around 50% of Fortier’s
 Varieties compared not always similar
 15 years experience
 Ideal pH
 Better fertilization
 Straight cultivation on soil
 Comparison with ADABIO not significant
 Methods used too different
Discussion

22. +
Economic results for the two first
years of the garden
2014 2015 Total
Investment and
charges
12000 13000
25000
Turnover 10000 25000 35000
Profit -2000 12000 10000
 25000 euros necessary for two people for starting a business on 2 years
 10000 of profit at 2nd year
Discussion

23. +
Economic results including prevision
for 2016
Economic data- Investment and income (euros)
Year 2014 2015 2016 Total
Surface
cultivated
(m2) 1200 1200 1500
Investment
and Charges
(euros) 12000 13000 14600 39600
Turnover
(euros) 10000 25000 40000 75000
Profit (euros) -2000 12000 25400 35400
Discussion

24. +
SWOT Analysis of the vegetable
farming at la Berthe farm
Discussion
 Collective can also be a threat for the vegetable business if accounting is not clear

25. +
Research Question
 What is the strategic farm management followed by the
farm?
 The economic performance model based on three pillars
 Can small-scale organic farmers make a living out of their
production according to the methods studied?
 Not at the second year, but with some investment, could be
profitable at 4th year
 Which turnover can they produce out of 1200m2 at a second
year of gardening?
 25000 euros at 2nd year, 33000 euros at 3rd year
 How can this benefit be increased?
Conclusion

26. +
Suggestions of improvements
 For higher vegetable yields
 Drainage of gardens
 Earlier start of production (February)
 Irrigation set up
 Adapted varieties
 Clear task repartition and schedule
Conclusion

27. +
Conclusion for current state of the
vegetable entrepreneurship of la
Berthe
 Yields are half of Fortier’s but good economic result for 2nd year
 Productive, big potential of growth with some improvements
 Improve agroecological landscape (corridors, fruit trees)
 Vegetable future plan to clarify with rest of collective
 Results to follow in the future for more precise analyze
Conclusion

28. Thank you for your attention

29. +
Prevision for year 2016 in detail
Budget investment 2016 Budget annual charges 2016
wood 800 water 1000
compost 1500 diverse material 1000
iron for concrete 500 seeds and plants 3000
car 1000
irrigation 1000 manure 300
greenhouse 3000
greenhouse
plastics 1500
Total 8300 6300
Discussion