Five exotic crops thriving in France's changing climate

Farming may be a traditional industry but it is having to adapt to unfamiliar new conditions. Some French farmers have responded to climate change by planting exotic crops that can cope with water restrictions and increasingly frequent heat waves. Here are five new homegrown products that are hoping to replace their imported counterparts.

1. Sugar cane in Corsica. In 2022 a wine-making family in southern Corsica planted a hectare of sugar cane to diversify their production. The plants came from Réunion island and were selected to be disease-free. Corsica has good conditions for sugar cane to thrive: lots of sunshine, high summer temperatures and well-drained soils. The proximity of the sea, meanwhile, moderates winter temperatures, reducing the risk of frost. The family now produces rum. 

2. Ginger in Les Landes. Ginger, native to China and Peru, is grown for its roots which are used in cooking and for their medicinal properties. They now grow in greenhouses among the pine trees of the Landes region alongside the market garden vegetables that thrive in the sandy soils. Ginger needs heat and humidity to grow. This part of France gets mild springs, very hot summers and warm autumns; and it is not far from the sea. The Landes doesn’t produce anything like enough ginger to supply the whole country, and large quantities are still imported. But the yield is steadily growing.

3. Pomegranates in the Ardèche. The Ardèche region, traditionally known for its chestnuts, walnuts and vineyards, has in recent years become a promising area for pomegranate cultivation, thanks to a favourable microclimate of warm summer days and cooler nights, and well-drained soils. The trees are spaced out to allow the air to circulate and they need irrigating during dry periods. Pomegranates require several months of ripening on the tree to get the right balance of sweetness and acidity. 

4. Pecan nuts near Paris. Pecan nuts are prized for their delicate, sweet flavour as well as their nutritional qualities. They are traditionally associated with the United States and warmer climates but now they are being grown successfully in northern France, within 100kms of Paris. Although the trees prefer heat, they are able to tolerate the moderately cold winters and temperate summers of the Ile-de-France region. Once established, they require little maintenance.

5. Vanilla and passion fruit in Brittany. Market gardeners in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany were looking for an alternative crop to grow in their ageing greenhouses built for tomatoes. The changing climate and an explosion in the global price of vanilla provided the answer. Altogether in Brittany, around 150 varieties of exotic fruit and vegetables are now being grown, sometimes organically.