Oé, the BiodiScore , you know? Nope ? It's normal, it's brand new. Neither one nor two, we explain why we like it so much, what it is for and why it was created!
What is the BiodiScore?
BiodiScore, what does it mean? It is short for biodiversity and score and therefore, more concretely, it is the biodiversity score ! This tool was created to assign a score on the amount of biodiversity existing in agricultural plots and which makes it possible to give suggestions for improvement to operators for a more developed biodiversity on the estates of winegrowers and farmers.
This initiative can be seen as a complement to other approaches such as that of EcoFarms for example. EcoFarms measures the sustainability of a plot by taking many factors into account (quality of life of the farmer, soil quality, impact on the environment) where BiodiScore measures the performance of a farm in terms of biodiversity .
Who is behind this rating?
The Oé team and in particular Fx, our co-founder, is one of the founding members. And it is François Duveau, the co-founder of Adratis Plantes who is at the origin of this beautiful approach. Adratis Plantes is a team of enthusiasts who cultivate medicinal plants . François was looking for a way to diagnose his rate of biodiversity on his farms and had the idea of BiodiScore to measure this rate! And that's how the tool was born! We join her in this initiative and other players in the organic food industry have followed us to form a collective. In addition to Adratis and Oé, the collective includes organizations like Arcadie , Bioplants , Lea Nature and O2M Lab .
Arcadie offers spices and medicinal and aromatic plants from organic farming. Bioplants specializes in aromatic herbs. Léa Nature sells a whole range of organic products such as hygiene and food products. O2M Lab is a research and innovation structure in the CSR (corporate social responsibility) and environment sector. In short, you have understood that beautiful people.
What is the purpose of the BiodiScore?
The goal of BiodiScore is very simple and at the same time important: to promote and improve biodiversity within agricultural plots labeled in Organic Agriculture . The objective is above all to reproduce the mosaic effect of cultures . You don't see what the mosaic effect is ? It is the association of various elements within a culture. The more we increase the complexity of the mosaic, the more we serve biodiversity. The diversity of cultures leads to the diversity of species and of the resources that these will need to develop.
Alone we go fast, together we go further. If there is one thing that nature teaches us, it is that unity is strength. Species interact with each other and provide mutual services. Crop auxiliaries protect plantations, regulate the presence of pests and bees circulate pollen from fruit to fruit. Diversity makes species more fertile, stronger and less vulnerable to disease.
As you have understood, we would need an entire article to talk about the benefits of biodiversity in agricultural plots. And that's good, we wrote a special one on the subject. If you want to read it, it's here!
The BiodiScore: for whom and how to use it?
The BiodiScore is offered to individuals and professionals who have organic plots of land. The initiative is only at the beginning and it already has about fifteen members with several types of crops represented: polycultures, viticulture, livestock or orchards.
For the method of use, there is nothing simpler. Producers and farmers pay a membership fee to be part of the association and calculate their own biodiversity score . There are no other costs to pay, the collective gives operators a grid to self-assess and drive Simone! They identify the different plant and animal species and the agro-ecological facilities present on their plot such as hedges , grass strips and pastures. All they have to do is calculate the number of points associated with the species. If this is difficult for some farmers, the collective helps them identify the species and calculate their score.
The more species you have, the more points you have: the biods if you follow well! The biod is a brand new unit of measurement specially set up by the collective, not bad, isn't it?
Of course, the number of biods will be different depending on the type of plot, the objective is not to distribute good points and elect the best student in the class. On the contrary, the goal is to make everyone progress and make everyone want to improve.
After calculating his score, the farmer must increase it by implementing actions to develop and promote biodiversity on his farm , such as adding hedges or setting up an agroforestry line , it is up to him to determine their own areas of progress. The farmer will be able to compare his score year after year to see its evolution.
The BiodiScore is an initiative which has just been launched and which will tend to develop. We are proud to participate in the beginnings of this new approach. We will always push the envelope further for biodiversity.
If you want to know more about the collective and if you are interested in using BiodiScore for your operation, we invite you to discover the Linkedin page of the collective and to contact the group at bonjour@biodiscore.bio
