When I met the gatherers who are members of the French Association of Wild Plant Gatherers ( AFC ) three years ago, they made me aware of the fragility of nature and of their profession.

It was important for us to introduce you to the objectives of their association and to raise your awareness of the contemporary issues surrounding harvesting.

Promote sustainable, responsible and local harvesting

Degradation of biodiversity, increasing demand for limited resources, changes in the governance of natural spaces, all issues that led to the creation of the AFC in 2011.

Thanks to the expertise of professional pickers, the AFC seeks to:

• Promote professional, responsible and ethical harvesting practices
• Acting to preserve a shared natural resource
• Uniting pickers in their diversity
• Represent pickers to the industry, public authorities and natural space managers

This last point is indeed essential. There is not yet a state-recognized status for the profession of "picker." Yet, this is essential to structure their profession and regulate the practice of picking in the region.

Disseminate good harvesting practices

The AFC has been working on a Guide to Good Harvesting Practices from the outset. This essential document, the result of collaboration between professional harvesters and scientists, aims to:

• Bringing together pickers around shared good practices
• Raising awareness among users about the fragility of the resource
• Passing on the knowledge of gatherers and scientific knowledge
• Promote this expertise and provide a reference document to public authorities and local stakeholders

This is a major challenge to enable us all to enjoy the benefits of nature while preserving it.

I was fortunate to meet these exceptional men and women, who dedicate their lives to nature. Without them, OTWS would not exist.

Today, I am happy to be able to support them, in turn.

To learn more about the AFC: http://www.cueillettes-pro.org/