On 27 August 2026, the French “meat bean” (haricot viande) and the work carried out within DIVINFOOD were featured in a report on TF1’s 8 p.m. national news programme (Le 20H), one of the most widely watched television news broadcasts in France.

Entitled “Haricot magique : la renaissance d’une filière” (“Magic bean: the revival of a value chain”), the report presented the ongoing efforts to reintroduce this traditional bean variety in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and to develop a viable value chain around it.

From a nearly lost variety to a renewed value chain

The report traces the trajectory of the haricot viande, a local bean variety that had almost disappeared from cultivation. Its revival started from a very small quantity of seeds preserved locally and has gradually brought together farmers, researchers and other food-chain actors.

In the field, TF1 highlights the agronomic potential of the variety, particularly its apparent ability to cope with dry conditions. One of the farmers involved in the initiative notes that, despite the drought, the beans are showing good resilience and remain healthy, leading him to describe the haricot viande as “a bean with a great future”.

These observations illustrate one of the central research questions addressed by DIVINFOOD: how can neglected and underutilised crops contribute to more diverse, resilient and sustainable food systems?

A collective approach from field to plate

The report also features Yuna Chiffoleau, Research Director at INRAE and coordinator of the DIVINFOOD project, who places the initiative in the broader context of rebuilding diversified food value chains.

Reviving a crop does not only mean conserving or multiplying seeds. It also requires creating the conditions for its production, processing, marketing and consumption. In the case of the meat bean, this involves farmers, researchers, processors, chefs and collective catering actors working together to explore both its agronomic performance and its food uses.

The report therefore gives significant national visibility to a key research challenge addressed by DIVINFOOD: how to move from the conservation of agricultural biodiversity to its effective use in farming, value chains and diets.

The broadcast is particularly noteworthy. TF1 is one of France’s main national television channels, and its 8 p.m. news programme is a major daily news broadcast. The feature brought the work carried out around the meat bean — and, more broadly, the challenges of crop diversification — to a large mainstream audience.