Providing for the generalization of the safety distance of 10 m for treatments, winegrowers are tearing up rows of vines near houses. Others replant far from any dwelling.
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and winter, Pascal Pelissou uprooted four plots that touched ten houses. “These are old vines planted on small plots of less than half a hectare. I had to pull them out.”, he explains. At other times, he would have replanted them in the same place. But given the climate of suspicion with regard to treatments and, above all, the risk that the DSPPR (safety distance vis-à-vis people present and local residents) increases to 10 m for all phyto products, he will replant them. elsewhere.
“I am lucky to have land, explains this winegrower who operates 69 ha including 25 organic in Brens, in the Tarn. I don’t have trouble with my neighbors. They are quite happy to have vines or fields near their homes. But if the DSPPR drops to 10 m, there won’t be much left in these plots. It won’t be worth growing them anymore. We signed a good neighbor charter in June last year which allows us to reduce the safety distance to 5 m with an anti-drift sprayer. With 5 m, we get out of it in all situations. Not with 10m. »
What will happen when this distance of 10 m becomes general? The question works Pascal Pelissou who has done his accounts. “I would have to uproot 1 ha because of the houses and 2 ha because of the paths. For the houses, I understand that it is necessary to treat from a distance, not for the rural roads: almost no one passes there., he says. Fortunately for him, these paths are not affected in the same way as the dwellings [voir encadré].
A little further, in Cunac, a residential town 5 km from Albi, this other cooperator prefers to remain anonymous. “Some of my plots are surrounded by houses”, says this winemaker at the head of 21 ha certified organic since 2023. Before each treatment, he sends an SMS to around twenty residents and never fails to remind them that he is organic. There is little feedback from them. And no problems with them.
He did his calculations: in all, his plots less than 10 m from houses or paths cover 5 ha. “Faced with the sword of Damocles represented by the DSPPRs, I plan to uproot these vines in the next two or three years. And all the more easily since these are old vines that I can replant elsewhere, even if these small plots that fit together make the beauty of this landscape in which I grew up »he confides.
Already in the past four years, he has replanted 6 ha on land away from homes that he devoted to the cultivation of seed corn. Only two houses appear in this landscape. “We no longer take pleasure in exercising our profession because of the risk of tension with local residents and the legislation which increasingly restricts us”he says.
Another problem: a dozen paths cross its vines. He put up signs saying “prohibited path, private property”. Not enough to turn away walkers.
In Alsace, Maximilien Zaepffel has no problem with the neighborhood. “We have always done prevention. There was never a wrong word”, relates the owner of the eponymous estate, 11 ha in Dambach-la-Ville, organic since 2021. Twenty years ago, the town, which has three schools and an nursing home, and the winegrowers sat around the table to agree on spreading schedules. History of pacifying relations with the neighborhood.
Although he has no problem with his neighbours, Maximilien Zaepffel uprooted rows of vines on five plots adjoining houses to “Preserve our good relations”. From now on, his last rows are at 10 m.
As for the paths, that’s another matter. A 6 km long cycle path crosses the vineyards of the winegrower. “People insult us and call us a polluter. I try to explain our job when a cyclist stops. Sometimes he comes away feeling less angry. »
Christian Kohser, vice-president of the ODG of Alsace wines, is worried: “Nothing says that the DSPPR will not be increased beyond 10 m. This would condemn whole sections of the economy.he warns.
In Bordeaux, Paulin Calvet, owner of Château Picque Caillou, 25 ha, one of the four vineyards closest to Bordeaux, does not say anything different: “If this crazy measure is applied to all products, I will lose one hectare, but in other regions, such as Champagne or Alsace, it will be worse, there will be thousands of hectares sacrificed. »
Luckily, the castle adjoins a wood. It therefore has few direct residents with whom relations are cordial. “For ten years, I have sent messages to inform them when we are going to treat. We have no problems. » On his paths, he put a “private path” sign. This does not deter walkers who continue to circulate.
Does the incompressible distance of 10 m apply to paths? Unlike La Vigne and Vitisphere, the approval service of a phyto firm which wishes to remain anonymous obtained a response from the Directorate General for Food (DGAL) of the Ministry of Agriculture. “The DSPPR must be complied with only when living [écoles, hôpitaux, Ehpad, usines, commerces… NDLR] whether busy or not. On the other hand, it only applies to paths and roads when a passer-by is present, ”explains this company. The DGAL clarified that the DSPPR applies to the walker present at the time of the processing and not to the entire place where he is likely to be. “When a winegrower is in the process of processing and a walker approaches 10 m away, the best thing is for him to stop and only resume after the walker has passed”, continues the firm. . To avoid having to stop, winegrowers can put up a sign warning passers-by that they are treating, asking them to wait a little while. M. B.
2023-05-01 12:16:06
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