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An interview with Maurice Viel

1/ Maurice Viel, you’re the person in charge of R&D with Groupe Frayssinet, what are the landmarks in the history of your department?

It was back in the 80’s when for the first time Jacques Frayssinet established a co-operation with the scientific bodies that gave us the opportunity to meet while I was completing my Ph.D thesis at the ENSA in Toulouse.
The arrival of Luc and Thierry was to energize this innovative approach which eventually led to my joining the company where I was to create an R&D department with its laboratory.
With this achievement, the link with the research institutes (INRA, University, CIRAD, IRD) started to develop with a view to improve and secure our productions while we were getting involved in the paths of innovation. Such a determination resulted in the ISO 9001 certification of our laboratory in 2000 which was extended to the whole company in 2007. At the same time, an opening towards innovative liquid products was to take place after the arrival of Gilbert Garapin who is specialised in this field. Today, in accordance with our management’s dynamics of innovation, the surfaces dedicated to the R&D activity and laboratory have been doubled, a cultivating and experimentation room has been created. The team of the Quality, Research&Development pole is composed of graduated specialists (Doctors and Engineers) which represents 10% of the Groupe workforce.

2/ At present, how is your activity within the Groupe articulated ?

First of all I will mention the know-how acquired by our laboratory which secures the selection of raw matters, the production control and traceability. We perform in total over 4000 analyses a year on our production site and we store over 10 000 raw matter samples and finished products in our sample bank. In parallel, our « proof through experimentation » research program has been developed since 1996 with the technical bodies whose results have been collected as Fertitests. Our scientific cooperation projects have also enabled us to explore new research paths to thorough characterization of all types of matters and accurate definition of new product quality indicators. Developing fertilizers to secure the optimum “organic effect” is our objective; i.e. restoring humus, stimulating soils biologically and maintaining the nutritive and sanitary balance of plants. Our position as agronomy experts has led us to offer our skills to partners, distributors and users through the Authentis partnership agreement. The customer satisfaction remains at the core of our activity and directly linked to the other processes within the Groupe.

3/ Do you believe the current regulation allows to guarantee the quality of organic fertilizers on the market ?

As a rule I would agree, given my commitment within standardisation boards. As a matter of fact, we’ve been working through our professional Unions UNIFA (fertilizers) and UJP (organic amendment) to develop a national regulation (AFNOR) and a European certification (EU) guaranteeing the transparency and readability of all our product offers to consumers. A lot of standards on fertilisers have been revisited in the last ten years following the dramatic events that had stricken the world of agriculture ( nitrates in soils, mad cow, bird flu, CO2 emissions, …). However, there has been tight pressure from urban waste recycling companies that will not be unwilling to « greenwash » their product offers. It is of paramount importance to single out our traditionally original products whose traceability is guaranteed, from household waste composts, sludge from recycling units or from green waste, whose composition is random and very heterogeneous. Those are likely to contain a multitude of chemical pollutants, more or less easily detectable with heavy metals (lead, chrome, cadmium,…), persistent organic pollutants
And bio-accumulators (PBC, Hormones, pesticides, …). The evolution of the current legislation makes it possible thanks to the compulsory label information to visualise the origin of the fertilizer components as long as the manufacturer complies with the regulations.

4/ Do you think innovation should be a major line for the Groupe …?

Absolutely, I do think innovation plays a crucial part in the evolution of our company which is in keeping with the new prospects and expectations of the world of agriculture and consumers. Today consumers wish to sign a new trust agreement with agriculture in the framework of the « double green revolution » : an international phrase meaning that production in agriculture should keep high standards while showing respect for the environment. Our trade is inscribed in the entire current evolution of green competitiveness which must work as the new motor of economic dynamism as advocated by the orientation project of Grenelle. Our technological innovations, especially regarding development stimulators and organic naturally based liquid antioxidants allow the Groupe to strengthen its position of market leader while keeping the ethics that earned its perennation. Quality, innovation, competitiveness are for us undissociable.

5/ where do you position the part played by « organic products » in the process of sustainable development …?

Very sensitive topic to me …I’ve been very attentive to the conclusions of the community of international scientific experts (IPCC). They are unanimous, a major climatic mutation, initiated by our economic development, is threatening the future of our planet. The two main factors of planetary degradation are the increase of CO2 in the air and the contamination of natural milieus by compounds from chemical synthesis. We have been the witnesses of an awakening to the ecological emergency implying among others, the humic maintenance of soils and plant development stimulation. In this situation our modern organic fertilization based on humus-generating products and our natural stimulators of plant growth appear as sensible, sustainable solutions. The agricultural world has no longer the right to be mistaken if it wants to reassure the well-advised consumer and safeguard our natural capital.