Global warming, Asian hornet attacks, lavender industry in peril... Provence honey producers are holding on as best they can.
Philippe Zamari ([email protected]) Published on 07/18/2025 at 12:45 PM, updated on 07/18/2025 at 12:45 PM
For several years now, beekeepers in Provence have been going through "a difficult period... But that's the lot of all farmers. And by focusing on quality, traceability, and good consumer information, we know we're on the right track, and that the industry will overcome this crisis ." Adrien and Sébastien Ciappara, from L'abeille de l'Estérel, in Le Muy, are optimistic.
"I have always maintained a positive and proactive approach, but I must admit that problems are constantly piling up in the sector," says Jean-Louis Lautard, a beekeeper in Le Tignet (06) and president of Sympas (the Provence and Southern Alps Honey Union). "And it is sometimes difficult not to give in to resignation..."
In addition to the concern about lavender (read more below), beekeepers in Provence are facing many well-known problems: "Climate change, increasingly violent weather hazards, strong competition from low-cost imported honeys, which do not have the same charges as ours, and are sometimes not even really honey, the Duplomb law which allows the return of products toxic to bees..." When asked about this, François Laponche, a beekeeper in La Bouverie, concedes: "At the moment, it's true that it's a lot..."
The Asian hornet, a real poisonAnd above all, there's the dreaded Asian hornet. "It causes considerable damage, and while everyone is doing their bit, we haven't yet found the right way to combat it," observes Sébastien Ciappara, who uses "a trapping system near his hives that works quite well, but isn't entirely satisfactory."
On this subject, the Ciappara brothers hope for "a mobilization, of beekeepers to begin with, to be able to find the best solution and once this is known, that we can generalize it with the help of all the actors of the territories, nature, forests, etc."
The mortality of the hornet on bees is violent: "A nest of Asian hornets can consume up to 22 kg of insects per year, and among them, many bees, and it takes a lot to reach such a weight... Moreover, we often wrongly contrast domestic bees with wild bees, but there are no more hives in France today than there were sixty years ago... The predator of wild bees is indeed the Asian hornet..."
New phenomenaSébastien Ciappara also notes "increasingly demanding customers" and "an investment in working time that is only increasing: on the hives, for sales, for administration, etc. We harvest all year round, sometimes moving our hives several hundred kilometers... We sometimes see new phenomena, like wild boar attacks on our hives, on the coast in winter... All of this weighs heavily on our family lives, for example. We love our job, but it's a big investment."
So many factors that weigh on the visibility of the sector. François Laponche, who is currently working on transferring his farm to his daughters and son-in-law, does not, however, feel like he is giving them a poisoned chalice. "With them, we will be in the fifth generation of beekeepers, so I can tell you that we have seen others... The farm survived the 39-40 war, at a time when lavender honey was hardly sold at all, and the anarchic development of pesticides, post-war, far more toxic than those used today... So if there are ups and downs, I am not worried, the honey of Provence will survive!"
Lavender honey is a staple for beekeepers in Provence. And not just from a symbolic perspective: "More than 60% of the beekeeping economy here relies on lavender honey," Jean-Louis Lautard points out. "If the lavender industry were to collapse, as several signs seem to indicate, Provençal beekeeping would also find itself facing a situation where our farms would collapse."
"Today, lavender is the big question mark for the future of beekeepers in Provence," adds François Laponche. "The area is shrinking, particularly due to the poor sales of lavandin essential oil. There are no more outlets, and farmers, understandably, prefer to turn to cereal production, for example."
Sébastien Ciappara is more optimistic: "We feel that something has been happening for a few years, it's true, but I believe that the lavender industry has not had its last word... Above all, I think it's time for us all to sit around the table, beekeepers, lavender producers, chambers of agriculture, partners, etc. to talk to each other and look for the best solutions."
While not everything is rosy, not everything is black either. Thus, the 2025 season has "started off rather well," according to the Ciappara brothers. "It's rained a lot in recent months, the vegetation is doing well, and yes, we've brought in honey from Provence, we have enough to supply customers, no worries."
There is one small drawback, however: "The lavender honey harvest, which had started well, was stopped prematurely by the intense heatwave in June... That said, it's not a disaster: we won't be breaking any records, but we won't have any stock shortages either."
An observation shared by François Laponche: "We had good harvests this spring, for example in heather, maquis, thyme, Alpine honey... But the emblematic harvest, lavender, was strongly impacted by the heatwave, and also because as a result, producers are picking lavender earlier and earlier."
Currently, as usual, the hives have moved to cooler regions, to the mountains, or to more northern regions. They will return to Provence in the autumn, "as late as possible to avoid damage from the hornet." The foragers will continue their activities there, "for example, we are working on savory honey in November, and strawberry tree honey in December," observe Adrien and Sébastien Ciappara.
"Lavender honey from Provence is the best in the world!" At his honey house in La Bouverie, François Laponche knows what he's talking about, as his family has been producing it for four generations, and is looking forward to the fifth.
If lavender is the "emblem" of Provençal beekeepers, " we also go to great lengths, year-round, to produce other very popular and very typical honeys, sometimes rare: white heather, maquis, garrigue, strawberry tree, savory, thyme..."
"The PGI requires production in a limited territory, respecting very strict specifications, laboratory analyses, controls... But this is not a problem, on the contrary, we even demand more controls, if it is likely to reassure the consumer and guarantee that they are buying an exceptional, excellent product," notes Sébastien Ciappara.
The "Red Label" which features prominently on jars of lavender honey also represents " an undeniable guarantee of quality" . And like many beekeepers in the region, L'abeille de l'Estérel also wins, each year, "precious medals at the Paris competitions or at the Brignoles fair, the level of which is also very high... All this gives meaning to the products of Provençal beekeeping: they are not cheap, but that is the price of a very high-end honey".
"We regularly hear former beekeepers say that the industry is going through a major crisis, that a certain golden age is behind us... But we set up in 2018, and we've never known this golden age! So yes, there are better and worse years, but broadly speaking, we still manage to produce our honey, do a job we love, and make a living from it..."
Adrien and Sébastien Ciappara embody a revival of Provençal beekeeping. "Our parents were amateur beekeepers, and we always enjoyed it... And then our father was an ONF agent, and we've always lived in harmony with the forest, nature, etc. This profession is part of that continuity."
Trained at the agricultural high school in Hyères, they "strongly recommend this training to young people who would like to start out... And we also recommend that they work for at least five years as an employee on a farm before starting their own business ." Especially since " the cost of the necessary investments has increased significantly in recent years." The Muyois have also diversified "into breeding queens and swarms; it's become a bit of a specialty."
The brothers today "hope that, in particular to better cope with these various crises, our profession will be more united, more structured, more supportive." They are not afraid of commitment: thus, Adrien is treasurer of Sympas, while his brother Sébastien is "a person associated with the chamber of agriculture; I was on the FDSEA list but in the end, not elected." The Ciappara brothers also created Gapp, the Provence Beekeepers' Association, "intended to unite professionals; there are about sixty of us in the Var, we communicate, we inform, we help each other..."
The highly experienced François Laponche hopes that this will be fruitful, "even if there have always been beekeeping unions, it is not easy to unite and create a collective, beekeepers being often quite solitary by nature."
For beekeepers who prioritize direct sales and the promotion of their exceptional honeys, this event is very important. The fourth Honey Festival is taking place this Friday, starting at 5 p.m., in the old village of Roquebrune-sur-Argens.
In addition to its farmers' market (which will bring together around fifteen beekeepers from the region, and other local producers: brewers, goat cheese producers, soap makers, chestnut products, etc.), the festival offers free entertainment with games and workshops for young and old.
"Honey festivals, in Roquebrune as well as in Les Arcs, Mouans-Sartoux, and Pélissanne, are essential for the profession ," note the Ciappara brothers. "It's always an opportunity to interact directly with new consumers and show them how we work. We love our job and are proud of our products, so we're always passionate when we talk about them, with the people of Var and with holidaymakers alike!"
The evolution of honey production from farms in Paca* shows significant variations from year to year. Over the past ten years, three good vintages have reached (or flirted with) 3,000 tonnes (3,314 tonnes in 2015, 3,145 tonnes in 2018, 2,973 tonnes in 2020).
Two black years followed, with 1,628 tonnes in 2016 and 1,662 tonnes in 2017. After hovering around 2,700 tonnes from 2021 to 2023, regional production peaked at 2,280 tonnes last year.
*Source: Adapi (association for the development of Provençal beekeeping)
Var-Matin
