How does Perma want to change the outlook for risk management in agriculture

This summer’s news plunges us brutally into climate-related issues. If there is one sector under pressure from these developments, it is the agricultural production sector. Those who find themselves faced with a new situation: repeated misfortunes.

” Today, you can no longer have a simple strategy when you are at the helm of a farm: to reduce the stakes, you have to play on all fronts Explains François Rosenberg, creator of the startup Perma, which is based in the business incubator Soller, near Perpignan (Pyrenees Orientales).

An agronomist who throughout his career has worked on the frontiers of the world of agriculture and insurance: “ I remember in New Zealand doing water stress modeling and harassing New Zealanders about the issue of vine irrigation, telling them it was something new in global vineyards and that at home, in France, we didn’t need it, that we had different terrain, different years, etc. “.

change of approach

That was about fifteen years ago. Since then, climate risks have increased.

” We have not yet encountered the sudden changes that we know, he adds. The past 10 years have been impressive, with increased stakes surprising even experts. We’ve seen 100-year-old storms become nearly 10 years old, and every year, French agriculture faces a climatic event. “.

Having worked on risk modeling on a global scale for the Swiss insurance company, François Rosenbig decided to take on all his knowledge in the field and return to the farms closer.

” Perma helps farmers look at risk management differently because it must be understood that insurance is not the “solution” even if it is part of it. »

Recommending a complete change of approach: “You have to rely on insurance, crop adaptation, technical protection mode, and by combining all of these methods, you can hope to withstand the elements. “.

Several major risks a year

Over the past three years, he has traveled throughout France helping farmers as well as cooperatives to develop control and adaptation strategies with a team of five independents with whom he works regularly.

” Our Mediterranean regions are particularly sensitive to this changeexplains again. This makes adaptation urgent. These are areas that will be at high risk or three. In terms of droughts, we’ve been on an average of two dry years per decade, and today we’re at three years old. Another danger is freezing. Not that it freezes more, on the contrary, but milder winters begin vegetation earlier in the year and expose it to spring frosts in a period when it is very vulnerable. “.

Could agricultural insurance reform projects not help?

“No, the insurance company cannot insure certain or recurring risks, He answers. You must have a very simplified view of insurance to believe that. Insurance can be one of the tools of strategy, but it is not the only one. »

So it also encourages us to consider what can be modified on the farm to offer less risk control.