Agriculture is a key sector covering 846,000 hectares with 15,560 farms. It represents 69% of the territory (with 42% for cereal crops) and certain crops rank in first place nationally like chicory (137,300 tons, 58% of national volumes), potatoes for consumption (1.97 million tons), petits pois (33% of volumes), endives (95% of volumes, world leader), dried beans (Label Rouge/IGP lingot du Nord, Label Rouge flageolet). The region ranks 2nd for production of cauliflower, celeriac, hops and onions, and ranks 3rd for leeks, garlic (Arleux smoked garlic, Locon garlic) and sugar beet (4.53 million tons). The other vegetable productions are beetroot, wild chicory, carmine, etc…

Cattle livestock numbers over 685,000 head and the meat production is about 58,000 tons. The regional breeds are Blanc Bleue, Bleue du Nord and Flamande Rouge (or Rouge du Nord). The Blanc Bleue is very rustic (slate-grey coat with blue sheen, 750 kg to 900 kg and 1,100 kg for the bull) and produces 70% of meat under the “Belle Bleue” brand (Label Rouge). The Bleue du Nord is a mixed breed that almost disappeared in 1970 (French government directive limiting cattle breeds to fifteen). Rescued from extinction by a small number of farmers, the herd now numbers 15 000 head. The Flamande Rouge is a dairy breed (one of the oldest in France) with less than 3,500 cows. There is a veal production (veal from Pays d’Artois) fed on whole milk from the farm, which gives a tender, fine meat. Pig farming (519,000 head) is a speciality of the region, concentrated in Flandre, the Lys plain and Haut Pays d’Artois. Pigs from Hauts Pays are fattened on corn (75%). Pork (80,300 tons, with certified conformity) is the meat most consumed in the region (35kg/inhabitant/year, especially in cooked meats). Sheep farming is relatively limited with 65,000 head (a thousand tons of meat) and some farmers have started up a production of local lamb (Agn’Hauts Pays, with certified conformity) for the butcher trade.

Milk (200,000 milk cows, 12.1 million hectolitres, 30% of farms) is the second largest farm production after cereals. The principal dairy areas are the Boulonnais, Haut Pays and Avesnois regions. Nord-Pas de Calais is a quality cheese region. A typical example is Maroilles, (AOC/AOP, 3,000 tons), a soft cheese with brushed rind made from cow’s milk. Vieux Gris from Lille (also called Maroilles Gris, greyish rind and creamy white centre) has a more powerful taste than Maroilles. Bergues (20 cm diameter, 6 cm thick, 2 kg), made from skimmed cow’s milk, is ripened for at least two months in special caves (hoofsteads) then brushed with salt water and beer. Boulette d’Avesnes (red brick colour cone) is flavoured with spices and herbs and coated in paprika.

Essential to the region’s economy, fishing and seafood products represent nearly 20% of French production (all activities). While Boulogne-sur-Mer remains the leading French fishing port (55,000 hauls and 377,000 tons intake in 2007), Nord-Pas de Calais ranks as the second French region in terms of seafood. Besides the star species like coalfish (king of Boulogne’s deep sea fishing, 6,423 tons) and whiting (leader of the Etaplois fleet, 5,476 tons), there are other quality species (sole, red mullet, bass, squid, Saint-Jacques scallops). Herring (5,100 tons), mackerel (2,068 tons) and cuttlefish (2,060 tons) remain the most popular species of the region.

The gastronomic heritage of Nord-Pas de Calais is very diverse because of its numerous lands and products. It is well defended by the leading chefs of the region (including roughly a dozen with stars). The culinary tradition has been heavily influenced by the maritime environment (kippers, rollmops, fish waterzoï, fish soups, Saint-Jacques scallops, mussels, etc.) and the regional recipes combine products from the area and elsewhere. The flagship dishes include: - potjevlesch: (Label STG) a terrine made from three or four cooked meats in aspic: pork, rabbit, chicken and veal, - lucullus: smoked beef tongue and foie gras in pastry (Valenciennes), - hochepot de bœuf: pot-au-feu with beer, - carbonade de bœuf: a sort of beef stew with beer - flamiche au maroilles: pie with Maroilles cheese, - andouillettes (sausages) from Cambrai and Arras.

Laurent Verhaegue
(President of the Nord-Pas de Calais Promotion Committee)

«The actions of this department of the Regional Chamber of Agriculture, set up in 1971, have evolved and it benefits from the partnership with the Regional Council. Its mission is to promote regional products and the image of our gastronomy. The department assists the development of agribusiness companies (export, innovation), supports them at trade shows in France and abroad and promotes the collective regional brand called Saveurs en’Or. The many actions taken include: - the operation called Invitez les saveurs du Nord-Pas de Calais à votre Table, which brought together 400,000 guests last March, all over France, - running the network Tables Régionales du Nord-Pas de Calais devoted to regional gastronomy, - distributing documents (recipe books, posters, etc.), that reflect our gastronomic diversity We shall continue pursuing our goals including the development of the Saveurs en’Or brand, which now has 105 member companies. Promotional actions for the general public should increase, and we will continue the operations for collective catering, and the educational tools. Lastly, we want to develop closer ties between farmers and agribusiness companies ».

Yves Durand
(Deputy Mayor of Lomme, President of the Lomme MIN, President of FFMIN)

« The Marché d’Intérêt National (MIN) of Lomme of which I have been president since 1990, through the urban community of Lille, has specialized in the fruit and vegetables market. We have developed the activity there by modernizing its structures and by widely diversifying the range of products proposed, particularly with meat, horticulture and shortly fish. With some 40 hectares, including 6 hectares of buildings, 50 companies, 650 employees and 230,000 tons of products traded every year, the Lomme MIN is the leading provincial MIN in tonnage per square metre. It is an agribusiness benchmark for the Nord-Pas de Calais region, in which it plays a major role, because of its strategic, geographic and economic position in the European context. The MIN (public interest market) has become a flourishing commercial entity because the changing economy demonstrates the prime importance of preserving a regulated market in view of the problems affecting both professionals and French consumers in their daily life. These markets are a model and an example. Nord-Pas de Calais is a region where ingrained values like solidarity, tenacity, hard work and service are united. All these essential values that have helped turn it into a great economic region. This is confirmed in every domain and especially in the farming and food processing sectors, with the move away from intensive cereal and beet crops to a more diversified farming with high value added. The region’s future depends on the development of a vast agribusiness sector positioned on the European market… ».

Christian Bardel
(Director of Groupement Qualité du Nord-Pas de Calais)

« This Quality Group was set up in 1985, at the initiative of the regional consumption centre and various consumer organizations, with the backing of the Regional Council, in order to develop the regional Nord-Pas de Calais label. At first, it grouped a dozen specifications, notably dealing with the cooked meats, seafood, Maroilles cheese and special regional beer sectors. Intended to promote regional products, it primarily corresponded to consumers’ expectations, in the search for officially recognized quality products that were associated with a territory. Unfortunately, the regional label was banned in 2002 by a European directive. As a result, we converted it into a collective regional brand called Saveurs en’Or. It now covers 110 companies and 400 products. At the same time, we have a certain number of products under official quality labels (Label Rouge, IGP, AOC, AOP, Certification de Conformité) and a Spécialité Traditionnelle Garantie label, official sign of European quality, awarded to our famous potjevlesch (terrine with four meats), a typical dish from our region, for which we want to protect the recipe. Many other labelling files are pending, notably in the seafood products sector. Nord-Pas de Calais is a great agricultural and agribusiness region where we know how to produce everything other than wine »

Jean-Marie Alexandre
(Vice-president of the Nord-Pas de Calais Regional Council, in charge of agriculture, fishery and rural development)

« Nord-Pas de Calais ranks in 4th place among French regions. It has with four million inhabitants and 1,550 towns, with over 900 in Pas de Calais, France’s largest rural department. Paradoxically, a large part of its population (1.5 million inhabitants) is concentrated in the central urban area (Lille area and mining basin from Béthune to Valenciennes). Rural and out-of-town, our region depends on about 15,000 farms. As everywhere else, this number will decrease in the years ahead. Cereals, potatoes, beet, livestock and milk (major production) remain the principal sectors. Lastly, the food processing industries hold a large place in the region’s economic activity (Roquette, Leroux, Bonduelle, etc.) as well as a broad range of SMEs. Fishing holds a key place in our economy. Boulogne-sur-Mer is France’s leading fishing port. On top of the production of 50,000 tons fished another 300,000 tons are imported and processed at CAPECURE. The fishing profession is suffering from the quotas and disputes the announced scarcity of the resource, demanding that further studies be conducted. The Region backs this approach and is arguing the case in Paris and Brussels with Pierre-Georges Dachicourt, our regional and national president. The Region is an essential partner for professionals and intervenes in the context of long-term agreements. Saveurs en’Or, the collective regional brand is the latest concrete example of this partnership. In conclusion, with a regional budget of €13 million/year, these levers promote our territory, agriculture and fishing sector ».