CNP Assurances acquires its first agroforestry estate in Gers with the expertise of Société Forestière

Advised by Société Forestière, in July CNP Assurances acquired a first 62-hectare agroforestry estate in south-west France (Gers).

As a responsible investor and leading private owner in France with 56,000 hectares of PEFC-certified forests (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), CNP Assurances has entrusted the sustainable management of its woodland assets to Société Forestière, with several objectives: security, biodiversity and anticipation of climate change.

In July, CNP Assurances with Société Forestière acquired a 62-hectare farm in south-west France (Gers) managed according to the agroforestry system. Contributing to the fight against global warming and the preservation of biodiversity, agroforestry is a practice combining trees, crops and/or animals on the same agricultural plot.

CNP Assurances and Société Forestière have planted more than 6,000 trees on agricultural land. The farmer, who now leases the land, applies organic farming methods. The trees are the property of the lessor, which is an innovative practice. With this first acquisition, CNP Assurances wishes to contribute to improving agricultural systems:

• the quality of soils, how they function and their roles,
• water quality and its regulation,
• biodiversity, both animal and plant,
• the capacity to attract pollinators,
• carbon storage in the land.

To carry out this acquisition, CNP Assurances was supported by Société Forestière de la Caisse des Dépôts, a specialist in forestry and land transactions and management.

“As a responsible investor, CNP Assurances is continuing its fight against climate change and is developing its policy to maintain biodiversity, as illustrated by its signing of the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge a few days ago. This first experiment with a farm managed according to the innovative principles of agroforestry contributes to this commitment to ecological transition” states Josselin Kalifa, Director of the investments France of CNP Assurances.

“In addition to additional income from the production of wood and high-quality ecosystem services, after so many years of numerous hedgerows being re-parcelled and destroyed, agroforestry reconciles farmers with trees”. adds Jean-Pierre Mesnil, Director of the investments of Forestry and Land of Société Forestière de la Caisse des Dépôts.