La Ruche Says Yes to Urban Agriculture
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Today, let’s talk about la Ruche qui dit Oui!. With over 1,000 “hives” across the country and more than 5,000 farmers in their network, la Ruche qui dit Oui! is one of the most influential local food players in France. We went to talk to Hèléne Binet, communications director for La Ruche, to get her perspective on urban agriculture.
🎙 Could you describe what La Ruche does for those who aren’t familiar with it?
The concept of la Ruche qui dit Oui! is based on a direct link to a nearby farmer. The platform allows producers to offer their products for sale less than 250 km away from their farms. We established that limit so that everyone could have access to a wide range of products and, at the same time, reduce the distance between areas of production and areas of consumption.
In fact, the average distance between a Farmer and a Ruche is 43 km. From time to time, we go a bit over the limit of 250 km to allow local specialties to go beyond their production zones (particularly for products that are specially designated as coming from a specific area). In all cases, the farmers sell directly to consumers. They fix their prices and they give us a small percentage: 8.35% to La Ruche (for platform development, invoicing, payments…) and 8.35% to the Ruche manager who organizes the farmers’ market.
Since la Ruche qui dit Oui! was created in 2011, the network rapidly developed in France and Europe. Today we have over 5,000 farmers and roughly 100,000 weekly orders.
🎙 You’re in direct contact with consumers — what are they paying attention to in the products they choose to consume?
We hear it being talked about in the media, and we see it every day in our various locations: consumers want to take back the control over what is on their plates. They want to know where the products that they’re eating came from and how they were grown (or raised). They enjoy the opportunity to talk with the people who produce their food. But transparency isn’t enough, they really enjoy eating and they’re happy to finally find products that have serious flavor.
🎙 A new type of agriculture is emerging: urban agriculture. How do you see this area?
Urban agriculture for us is a new type of growing culture that complements the traditional agriculture that we’ve been defending since we were created. It is particularly able to limit the distance from farm to table in large urban agglomerations. But that’s not all, because proximity isn’t everything. Urban agriculture also has a large ecological role to play in cities. Rooftop growing reduces urban run-off, brings nature into the city and refreshes the atmosphere. What’s more, urban agriculture plays a strong social and pedagogical role. It allows every citizen to get closer to their food and meet the people who produce it.
🎙 Do you think that this type of model can respond to customers’ wishes?
Yes, but on its own it’s not enough. Urban agriculture can favor original, rare or fragile products, like micro-greens, strawberries and tomatoes, but it won’t substitute other forms of agriculture that, in rural areas, define the landscape, cycle carbon and animate the territory. Urban agriculture will thus be a complementary solution that brings quality products directly into our cities.
🎙 What strategy are you adopting as regards urban agriculture?
Our objective is to encourage new forms of production that present responses adapted to the urban environment. In 2017, we’re launching an experimental project in the Paris region. Over the year, la Ruche qui dit Oui! will go meet new players and allow some of them to commercialize their products in the Parisian Ruches. For example, we’re in discussions with Paysan Urbain, the Boîte à Champignons, and Agricool, with others soon to follow. At the same time, we’re encouraging discussions around the subject within our network.
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