On October 21, 2025, the event “Sharing Cereals and Legumes: Exchanges Between Farmers, Students, Researchers, and Citizens” took place at J. Gaubert’s farm in Payra-sur-l’Hers (Aude). The day was unexpectedly successful, with more than 150 participants attending, instead of the forty initially expected.

Organized as part of the participatory research projects DIVINFOOD and LOCASTOCK, in partnership with the Défi Clé Octaave and its GTIO-RG working group, the aim of this gathering was to bring together different perspectives, knowledge, and experiences surrounding food systems—from seed to plate. The program was co-designed with participants to best address the challenge of mixing audiences and fostering collective intelligence.

A Two-Part Day: Workshops in the Morning, Visit and Open Forum in the Afternoon

Concrete, territory-based topics were explored, such as grain storage, the preservation of cultivated biodiversity, short supply chains, and the development of local value networks.

In the morning, four rotating workshops allowed participants to:

• Prepare the lunchtime meal in a cooking workshop, while discussing the nutritional value of so-called minor cereals (such as poulard wheat and einkorn) and legumes (lentils, chickpeas, etc.).

• Take part in digging an underground silo inspired by medieval storage pits, intended for storing einkorn grain.

• Create a collective Q&A card game on the preservation of local breeds and varieties.

• Exchange ideas on future storage methods that require less energy.

In the afternoon, participants discovered the remarkable diversity of activities and production on J. Gaubert’s farm (250 sheep, 95 hectares, an Astrié mill, and numerous other installations). They also contributed to an open forum addressing questions such as: How can we achieve diversity in our plates and therefore in our fields? How can we preserve, process, and market this diversity? What collective dynamics at the scale of Occitanie can help unite people around the challenges of biodiversity? How can each person get involved in participatory research projects on these themes?

Students Fully Engaged

Students from the two-year technical degree in agriculture at La Raque school, from the Purpan engineering school, and from Agro Toulouse brought energy and innovative ideas to the event. As part of their coursework, they will produce summaries and outreach materials based on the day’s outcomes.

The Day Filmed for the MOOC “Citizens’ Relationship to Science”

The event also served as the filming context for the upcoming MOOC “Citizens’ Relationship to Science,” produced by the Laboratoire des Transitions—a program supported by the Occitanie Region and the Maisons des Sciences et des Humanités of Montpellier and Toulouse. This MOOC, intended for local policymakers, will soon be available as open-access content.

A Collective Momentum for the Future

The enthusiasm of participants and the richness of the exchanges reflect a genuine desire to work together for more diversified and resilient food systems in the Occitanie region!

A summary of the reflections from the day will soon be shared to help reinforce the actions to be supported within the ongoing projects.

For more information: dominique.desclaux@inrae.fr