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BONJEAN & ASSOCIÉS

Plant expert

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BIODIVERSITY,

AGRO-ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, TRADITIONAL USES

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Agro-environmental sciences study the agronomic, socioeconomic and ecological aspects of agricultural production and address environmental problems such as the storage and processing of manure, soil conservation and the management of fertilisers, pesticides and water."
André Lamontagne, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Quebec

"True progress is tradition perpetuating itself."
Michel Crépeau

Whether it be wild or domesticated and wherever it grows on the planet, every plant, with its own biological and biochemical characteristics, is adapted to living within a natural or agricultural ecosystem constrained to a greater or lesser extent in terms not only of soil, climate, biotic and abiotic stresses, but increasingly also of regulation. Unlike its wholly natural ancestors, any variety bred by humans has a unique profile of distinctive, homogeneous and stable characteristics which are of interest to farmers, industrial processors and consumers alike. Likewise, for any variety to reproduce identically, human intervention is again required.

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BONJEAN & ASSOCIÉS provides support in the form of studies into the sourcing, production and harvesting of plant species: general data, genetics, access to seeds and cultivars, propagation methods, ethnobotanical and biochemical analysis, associated technology, processing chains, etc.

Our specialisms:

Cereals and pseudocereals (wheat, rye, rice, buckwheat etc.)
Oilseeds and pulses (sunflower, peas, oilseed rape, camelina, soya etc.)
Vegetables and ornamental plants
Medicinal plants
Algae and some trees etc.
Conservation of endangered wild species or cultivars etc.

Recent achievements:

Measurement of biodiversity of natural meadows
Study of the biodiversity of the Panax genus and sourcing options
Rescue and propagation of ancient European populations of wheat and rye
Evaluation of quinoa populations in Western Europe
Bibliographic studies of various plants with medicinal, cosmetic or industrial properties
Regional agro-environmental statements
Trials of elicitors capable of limiting crop protection product use
Proposal to bring together a consortium on pre-breeding of wheats from Saharan oases in the light of global warming
Summaries of the history and heritage of traditional uses for plants cultivated in the Auvergne etc.

FOOD AND HEALTH

"Food is the moral right of all who are born into this world."
Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize Winner 1970

"Wisely choosing, combining and cooking the plants you eat provides preventive protection from illness"
Zhao Zhifeng

"What is food? It is not only a collection of products that can be used for statistical or nutritional studies. It is also, and at the same time, a system of communication, a body of images, a protocol of customs, situations, and behaviour."
Roland Barthes, Towards a Psychosociology of Contemporary Food Consumption, 1961

Sustainable urban development and improved education on our increasingly populous planet are extending average lifespans and bringing about deep and inescapable changes to our food system: increasing political strength of urban dwellers vs farmers, emergence of urban agriculture, needs for both food safety and food security, reduction in the number of plants consumed on a large scale, greater attention paid to specific dietary requirements (pregnant women, children or the elderly), battle with obesity and associated diseases, constant concern to conserve the environment, etc.

Thanks to their varied experience and wide-ranging international network, BONJEAN & ASSOCIÉS can provide you with preselected information and new ideas, hence saving you time in developing or adding to your agri-food or organic/health products or extending them to new market segments or territories.

Our specialisms:

Managing or co-managing R&D projects about targeted plants or their processing
Designing plant-based food products
Researching partnerships and/or technology transfers
Marketing support and/or writing marketing material (books, articles, etc.) associated with human or animal diet or presentations to workshops, conferences or general meetings
Developing healthy ingredients a part of a nutritional approach which is more preventive than curative
Organising foreign fact-finding missions etc.

Recent achievements:

Co-managing R&D projects on targeted plants (rye for baking, zero-erucic camelina, confectionery sunflower, etc.)
Implementing an in vitro cultivation platform
Establishing R&D partnerships on cucurbit crops
New cereal-based food products
Authoring a heritage book ‘Rye from the Margeride’
Health ingredients and extracts based on medicinal and aromatic plants
Organising or co-organising fact-finding trips in the European Union, Iran, China etc.

HIGH VALUE-ADDED PLANT CHAINS

"Consumers are ready to put their money where their mouths are when they can see the benefit to themselves."
Val’Hor, 2015

"The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage."
Arie de Geus

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
Steve Jobs

The second half of the 20th century was hedonistic. In an unprecedented context of rapid technological progress and advancement of knowledge, the focus in the 21st century is now on ethics: conservation of natural resources (water, air, soil) threatened by a growing human population and global warming, development of short supply chains and desire to reduce carbon footprint, fair trade, greater awareness of animal suffering, expectation for rapid and transparent communication, search for products and services which provide meaning and identity etc.

In the atmosphere of ongoing upheaval and fear in our society, BONJEAN & ASSOCIÉS helps agro-industrial industries to assess the impact of these new parameters within their products and to identify consumer expectations for functionality and their acceptability.

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Our specialisms

Identifying genetic functionalities or high value-added technologies and associated services
Strategic marketing: implementation of targeted monitoring, proposals for product and positioning opportunities, research/evaluation of partnerships or acquisition targets, assistance with selecting target markets, pre-identification of customer groups, etc.
Co-managing the introduction or strengthening of plant chains
Diversification of existing chains to foreign markets

Recent achievements:

Identifying new sources of anethole
Co-developing ‘zero-erucic’ varieties of camelina
‘Edible flowers’ project
Contributing to strategic marketing for an urban agriculture company
Developing sales of high-end flours in Asia
Studies of distribution chains in the Near and Middle East
Studies of agri-food acquisition targets in Europe
Project for setting up a subsidiary in China for a European group, etc.

NETWORK

"Alain has deep knowledge about seeds R&D as a breeder but more importantly as a manager. Under his leadership, Limagrain China has been able to set the right R&D direction and delivered highly competitive products. Having lived in multicultural environments for an extensive period of time, Alain understands and appreciates different cultures. He has gained respect from employees, colleagues, and business partners from diverse backgrounds."
Peng Chen, Vice-President Vopak, Shanghai, P.R. of China

"Alain has an extraordinary ability to create new ideas and concepts, and to implement them in line with group strategy. He is also very talented in developing a large network of people worldwide who can interact with trust."
Pierre Lacaze, Sales & Marketing Director Takara Bio, Paris, France

"A human organisation only truly comes to life when it is moving. Growth comes naturally to plants and the same is true of companies. Alain Bonjean is a pragmatic, hands-on and realistic developer and businessman. His expertise really comes to the fore when things get complicated."
Luc Satgé, CEO Terreneuve, Paris, France

"When Groupe Limagrain decided to redevelop its 'rice seed' activities, Alain Bonjean got into contact with IRRI Tech Transfer. We negotiated a partnership agreement which provided Limagrain with access to high quality genetic material and to IRRI's hybrid seed production expertise. I particularly appreciated our interaction with Alain during this negotiation and came to value his professional qualities: development of a corporate rice strategy, selection of partners based on an excellent knowledge of the seed sector, excellent negotiating ability directed towards developing a sustainable competitive advantage. This partnership established by Alain is developing positively for both partners."
Remy Bitoun, Directeur IRRI Tech Transfer, Los Banos, Philippines

"Alain is someone who has great human qualities. His multicultural skills and intelligence mean he understands his international colleagues very well. He has very high level professional networks and is a highly innovative thinker.

We have initiated relationships with Iran's Ministry of Agriculture and other agricultural networks in the region for a number of customers.

Mahsa Darani, CEO Effer, Grenoble, France

BONJEAN & ASSOCIÉS has an international network of high-level contacts in the areas above or in complementary areas (funding research, legal support, photographic and editorial support, translation, etc.).

Our main markets:

Europe
Asia (China, India, Iran, Philippines, Israel, etc.)
North & South America (Brazil, Argentina, Peru, USA, Canada etc.)

Recent achievements:

Researching cultivars of small, high value-added fruits in North America
Carrying out international trials of minor cereal and pseudocereal seeds
Evaluation of white biotechnology in various agronomic systems
Preparing, organising and escorting professional missions in China
Co-preparation of management missions to Iran and Ethiopia
Obtaining private Chinese funding for investments in Europe
Creating specific visual materials, internal and external communication documents, translations into Chinese and into Farsi, etc.

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RESOURCES

Books

ABIS S. (coord.), BONJEAN A. et al. (2019).

Le Demeter 2019.

Editions IRIS, Paris, 302 p.

BONJEAN A. (2018).

Le seigle des Terres de Margeride, un produit exceptionnel/ Rye from the Margeride, an exceptional product (bilingual).

Quelque part sur terre… 170 p.

LE STUM H., BONJEAN A., BOUQUERY J.M., GRECOURT B. MATHIEU J., RUCH O., SOPPELSA C., VALLUIS B. (2017).

Le blé.

Ed. France Agricole, Agri-Productions, 272 p.

BONJEAN A., ANGUS A., van GINKEL M. co-ed. (2016).

The World Wheat Book: A history of wheat breeding.

Lavoisier Tech & Doc – Limagrain, vol III, 1600 p.

BONJEAN A., SCWOOB M.H., LY C., BOINET D. (2014).

Nourrir 1.5 milliard de Chinois en 2030: Les mutations des agricultures chinoises et leurs conséquences sur les marchés agricoles et agro-alimentaires

De Boeck, 214 p.

BONJEAN A., ANGUS A., van GINKEL M. co-ed. (2011).

The World Wheat Book: A history of wheat breeding.

Lavoisier Tech & Doc – Limagrain, vol II, 1201 p.

He Z., BONJEAN A., co-ed. (2010).

Cereals in China.

Mexico D.F., CIMMYT, 120 p.

BONJEAN A., ANGUS A., co-ed. (2001).

The World Wheat Book: A history of wheat breeding.

Lavoisier Intercept – Limagrain, vol I, 1132 p.

BONJEAN A. (2000)

Les blés des Limagnes d’Auvergne.

Limagrain. 64 p.

BONJEAN A., LEBLOND R. (2000).

Les trésors du blé du grain au pain.

Ed. L.P.M., Paris, 120 p.

LACAZE P., BONJEAN A., coord. (1998).

Actes du VIème séminaire AGROGENE: cartographie et séquençage, Agrogene, Paris, 145 p.

LACAZE P., BONJEAN A., coord. (1997).

Actes du Vème séminaire AGROGENE: l’exploitation de la biodiversité, Agrogene, Paris, 127 p.

LACAZE P., A.BONJEAN, coord. (1996).

Actes du IVème séminaire AGROGENE: les biotechnologies dans le monde réel, Agrogene, Paris, 132 p.

LACAZE P., BONJEAN A., coord.. (1995).

Actes du IIIème séminaire AGROGENE: les biotechnologies et l’amélioration du végétal au service des matières premières et des produits. Nouvelles possibilités, Agrogene, Paris, 270 p.

IU G.S., BONJEAN A., PENG K.-J.. (1995).

Recherche et développement du tournesol (Chinese edition).

China science and technology press, Beijing, 254 p

BONJEAN A., LACAZE P., LEMAIRE-BONJEAN F., TOURTE Y.. (1995). L'haplodiploïdisation: un outil à redécouvrir en synergie avec le marquage moléculaire. Agrogene, Paris, 132 p.

LACAZE P., BONJEAN A. coord. (1995).

Actes du IIème séminaire AGROGENE: utilisations pratiques des marqueurs moléculaires de la création variétale aux finalités alimentaires et industrielles, Agrogene, Paris, 194 p.

BONJEAN A., FORGEOIS P., LACAZE P., LEMAIRE-BONJEAN F. et SOURDILLE P.. (1994).

Actes du Ier séminaire AGROGENE: Le marquage moléculaire: un outil performant pour le sélectionneur, Agrogene, Paris, 133 p.

BONJEAN A. (1993).

Le tournesol: Economie, origine, histoire, écologie, sélection.

Les Editions de l'environnement. Paris. 242 p.

GLACHANT M., LEVEQUE F., BONJEAN A. (1993).

L'enjeu des ressources génétiques végétales: Aspects scientifiques, écologiques et économiques.

Les Editions de l'environnement. Paris. 206 p.

BONJEAN A. (1991).

Le ricin: Une culture pour la chimie fine.

Ed. GALILEO HATIER. Paris. 101 p.

BONJEAN A., PICARD E. (1990).