Advances in science and technology and the high degree of technical skill among growers have led to considerable improvements in sugar beet production over the last 20 years.
Environmentally sound…
Sugar producers have developed methods of cultivation that considerably reduce the need for nitrates (reduced by 30% since 1997) and the use pesticides and chemical fertilisers. The widespread application among French sugar beet farmers of the principles of “sustainable agriculture” also serves to reassure consumers worried about the impact of agricultural methods on the quality of food and on the environment.
…and sustainable agriculture
Sugar beet production forms a natural part of a sustainable development approach to farming.
It offers a number of advantages :
- Sugar beet is one of a succession of different crops that vary from year to year, representing 20% of crops grown in France between 1992 and 2001. Rotation is useful because it enables farmers to break the cycle of insect infestation, disease and weeds. It is also effective against agricultural pests in general. It is commonly remarked that the “soil retains the memory of the sugar beet”.
- Sugar beet’s very deep root system reaches down as far as 1.5 metres, thereby acting as a nitrate “trap” and reducing nitrate leakage.
- Sugar beet is also very good at trapping carbon dioxide and, in summer, is the only plant remaining in the fields to carry out this task.
- Sugar beet promotes the conservation of the natural environment in other ways. Beet crops help to promote wildlife diversity by providing extensive foliage cover. This serves as a haven for a large number of insects. Sugar beet represents a valuable resource for vertebrates in autumn, when other crops, with the exception of maize, have already been harvested.
- Finally, it contributes large amounts of organic matter to the soil (on one hectare planted with sugar beet, 50 tonnes of leaves are ploughed back into the land).