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The mayor of the city, Daniel Janssens, played a full role as a referee. It wants to focus on the sale of 100% local commodities. He decided to support the farmers in their fight. He encouraged them to group together ("The Union made the farm") and relies on the local urban planning (PLU) to oppose the opening of the supermarket. “Managers import a lot of products that we already have on the spot. In addition, they are putting a lot of pressure on producers,” said Daniel Janssens. A fine strategist, the mayor later modified the PLU... to allow farmers to open their collective sales space.
Agricultural producers of “Semige Talents” – Farm Storytelling
Agricultural producers of “Semige Talents” – Farm Storytelling
After five years of administrative and fund-raising – EUR 1.3 million have been invested – Talents de Fermes opens its doors on 19 August 2014. In the meantime, the supermarket against which farmers were fighting was located 15 km away, in Villeneuve d’Ascq, under another name. It should be noted that the store advertises more than 50% of local products and that 95% of their suppliers come from the region.
A promising future
Today, Talents de Fermes has a daily turnover of EUR 5 000, welcomes 2,000 customers per week, employs 8 employees and 5 students on weekends. In addition to the 24 associated producers within SARL, 32 “deller-denchrial depot” deposit their goods. The key to success? Team spirit,” says Danielle Grave: “The human aspect is paramount. It took some time, but now the machine is running and customers are coming back. ”
The case of Talents de Ferme is not isolated in France. "There are more and more shops of this type," enthused Danielle Grave. There are several hundred of them, of different sizes. Uniferme, in the Rhônes-Alpes region, has even been in existence for thirty years. And it's not over. On 13 November, a farmer from Amiens visited Talents de Ferme, who was apparently willing to transpose the concept to his city.
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