Europe's largest rooftop farm gets growing again after lockdown

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On the top of a major exhibition complex in the south of Paris is a farm with a difference.

The Nature Urbaine project is the largest of its type in Europe.

Extending over 14,000 square meters, the project is aiming to become a model for sustainable production.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of daily life and Paris authorities are hoping to make a permanent shift to more fruit and vegetable production sites in the heart of the city.

The city-farm project on the rooftop provides a chance for people to rent spaces to produce their own fruit and vegetables.

Our project is based on the genuine willingness to put some sense back to the city

- Sophie Hardy, director of the Urbaine project, wants to bring nature back to Paris

The Paris authorities are trying to grow greener models of sustainability through projects like this.

"Our project is based on the genuine willingness to put some sense back to the city, to support its resilience," Sophie Hardy, the director of Nature Urbaine, told CGTN Europe.

"Also to imagine how it could be more virtuous and how we can bring nature back in a city that pushed nature away for so many years."

But a farm in a city runs the risk of plant growth being affected by the toxic fumes of road traffic.

Emissions of nitrogen dioxide have more than doubled in the French capital since the end of lockdown in mid-May.

Camille Billiemaz, a vegetable production manager at Nature Urbaine, told CGTN Europe that "with some plants, where the root system is protected, the plant doesn't absorb the pollution."

The Nature Urbaine Project is the largest of its kind in Europe and aims to become a model for sustainable production. /CGTN

"As for the produce grown in the water system, we check that pollution stays low," she says.

"We still advise people to wash the vegetables before eating it, but we conform to pollution thresholds."

During lockdown, this urban farm had an agreement with the local authority to deliver vegetable baskets to online customers.

And while the rooftop may not yet be crowded with amateur farmers, there is an enthusiasm for local shopping at the heart of French cuisine.

The creators of the project want Parisians to change their consumer habits and grow their own fruit and vegetables on rented plots. /CGTN

Weekly markets are a tradition across France, with many people still preferring to shop there rather than at big chain stores.

The sense of community at Nature Urbaine is a positive aspect.

But there are economic and cultural challenges for projects like this, says Frederic Madre, a biodiversity researcher.

"Urban farms are quite expensive to build, so local communities are not really able to pay for it.

"There are also problems linked to the fact that the majority of the population is disconnected from nature. And you can't respect what you don't know. But we hope people will change their consumer habits."