At the beginning of March, a Super U near Montauban inaugurated a 400 m² aquaponic farm directly integrated into the store, a first in France. Designed as a replicable model, the new farm enables vegetables and fish to be produced and sold on site, just a few meters from the fruit and vegetable section.
Complementing the local offer
© Super U Labastide-Saint-Pierre
Vegetables from the farm will be sold directly in the store's fruit and vegetable department. Several varieties are already grown there, including sucrine lettuce, curly endive, green and red kale, pet-sai, pak choï, as well as aromatic herbs (chives, coriander, parsley) and chard. Other crops will gradually be added as the season progresses, including peas, tomatoes, and aubergines. "Production will evolve in line with customer expectations, but the main aim is to produce and sell a range of fresh produce that complements what is available from our local producers," explains Patrice Marchi, the supermarket manager. Volumes are expected to reach 2 tons for both vegetables and trout. "But we are waiting for the first harvest to refine these figures," adds Patrice Marchi.
A smokehouse and a fresh-cutting workshop have also been installed to process the trout directly on site.
© Marine Inghirami-Benaroch | VerticalFarmDaily.com
Bringing production closer to the consumer
Local production that is, above all, visible to consumers. "We wanted to bring production as close as possible to the consumer. This aquaponic farm embodies a different way of producing and consuming, one that is clearer, more local, and more responsible," explains Patrice Marchi. "Food production is visible, understandable, and part of the shopping experience." But above and beyond technical innovation, the Super U in Labastide-Saint-Pierre is committed to an educational approach. "Consumers can observe how the farm works, understand the production cycles, and give meaning back to what they buy."
© Marine Inghirami-Benaroch | VerticalFarmDaily.com
Aquaponics, which combines livestock farming and soil-less cultivation, works in a closed circuit. The fish produce nutrients that feed the plants. The plants, in turn, filter the water, which is then reused for the fish. All this with reduced water consumption and continuous production. Photo: plan of the aquaponics farm at the Super U in Labastide-Saint-Pierre.
Why aquaponics?
While there are a growing number of urban farm initiatives, such as the vegetable gardens that are springing up on the roofs of some supermarkets, Patrice Marchi has opted for aquaponics. Because, in addition to freshness and proximity to the consumer, "this model offers a number of advantages, particularly in terms of taste quality, water and waste management, as well as making use of the waste heat produced by the store - via the refrigeration systems. Aquaponics offers a format that tends towards self-sufficiency in nutrients for dual production (plant and animal). Rooftop cultivation in our region is difficult to implement because of the high summer temperatures and the weight constraints of our building."
