A few months after its first fundraiser, Mycophyto was joined by academician Erik Orsenna, a nature enthusiast and specialist in raw materials. Below, he shares with Mycophyto his long-term vision of agriculture, his understanding of the issues, and support for his innovative solution.

Excerpt from the interview with Erik Orsenna published by La TRIBUNE, Tuesday, 20 October 2020

Did you take part in Mycophyto’s last funding round? How and why?

In the beginning, I was a professor of raw materials economics, particularly agricultural raw materials, and I have always been passionate about these issues. I got in touch with Alain Poncet, who was then in charge of the French development company, Compagnie d’Amenagement des Coteaux de Gascogne (editor’s note: the water management organisation on the left bank of the Garonne), the brother of Christine Poncet, co-founder of Mycophyto with Justine Lipuma. And above all, for fifteen years now, I have been working on issues of globalisation, cotton, water, paper, mosquitoes, pigs, etc. After my research on rivers, which is almost finished and has taken me ten years, my next study will be on soils. All roads led me to Mycophyto.

What will you bring to Mycophyto?

They are 40 years younger than me. I will bring my experience, and they will bring their fresh ideas. That’s what I call … a crew. What I can also contribute is the story, the words to build a story. It is clear that, at all levels, on the personal, company, and national levels, it is impossible to generate momentum without a narrative. Putting ideas and convictions into words is essential. And also, I have experience working with start-ups that have found success, thanks to the story, network, and a few other methods.

What are your hopes and dreams for the development of Mycophyto?

What is marvellous is that growth is never abstract, never above ground for me. And what is interesting is this link with a research centre known worldwide, Sophia Antipolis, but also with the different regions. No soil is homogeneous, and each needs its own diagnosis and an appropriate response to each diagnosis. It’s a bit like medicine … and that goes hand in hand with what I do with Pasteur, for which I am the ambassador. At its heart, Mycophyto is almost like breathing life back into the soil, a bit like a vaccine awakens potential immunological processes in each organism. I would define myself as an inquisitive person and a lover of the possible; the quest is real. I see a wonderful, enthusiastic team seeking to answer a fundamental question about our future.