BUCKWHEAT

BUCKWHEAT — The Breizh Café Farm 

The History of Buckwheat

In plant classification, buckwheat is known as Fagopyrum. Contrary to popular belief, buckwheat is unrelated to wheat, in spite of its name — it is not a cereal but a polygonaceae.

Several thousand years BCE, buckwheat was growing in western China, in the province of Sichuan. Research by Professor Ohmi Ohnishi, a specialist in agricultural genetics at Kyoto University, has shown that buckwheat first appeared in the Tongyi river valley, where it still grows wild. As a food crop, it has been cultivated in China for seven thousand years.

Although French archaeologists have found traces of fossilized buckwheat pollen dating back to the 13th century, it wasn't until the end of the 15th century that buckwheat was actually introduced into French agriculture. It later spread to western French diets gradually over the course of the 16th century. So much so that from the 17th century until WWII (1940), buckwheat became the main crop and foodstuff for people in the Armorican Massif (Bretons and Normans).

It was in the first half of the 20th century that Breton cropping patterns really began to change. Little by little, buckwheat acreage began to decline in favor of plants (and mechanical weeding) used to feed livestock. Similarly, the increase in cereal acreage played a role in the decline in buckwheat cultivation. From the 1950s onwards, buckwheat acreage fell below 25,000 acres in all Breton départements, and continued to decline throughout the 20th century. By way of comparison, buckwheat acreage in the Ille-et-Vilaine département exceeded 272,000 acres in the 19th century.

Finally, it wasn't until the early 1990s that buckwheat cultivation resumed in Armorica with the arrival of the "Blé Noir Tradition Bretagne" PGI (Protected Geographical Indication). Today, buckwheat cultivation is estimated at 10,000 to 12,000 acres for the whole of Brittany.

Buckwheat is also grown in Central Asia, Nepal and Siberia. Its biggest producers and consumers are Russia (50%), China (28%) and Ukraine (5.5%). Buckwheat is a staple food in these countries, consumed in the form of porridge, gruel, noodles and other dishes.

The Life Cycle of Buckwheat

Buckwheat has a very rapid life cycle (70 to 90 days), being sown in May and generally harvested in September or October. Seedlings appear 3 to 5 days after sowing, leaves between 3 and 6 weeks and flowers after 6 to 7 weeks. Finally, the seeds reach maturity after ten to twelve weeks.

Buckwheat is an annual flowering plant that can grow up to 1 meter high.

It is a long-flowering plant (50 days), meaning that buckwheat flowers throughout its growth. It's important to pay close attention to the ripeness of the seeds. Buckwheat is a fast-growing plant, requiring no fertilizer to grow, and attracting neither disease nor insects.

In July and August, small white and pink flowers develop.

The nectar from these flowers is much sought-after by beekeepers. Growing buckwheat requires great sensitivity, know-how acquired through experience, and careful monitoring of its growth. The plant's stalks are rich in water and brittle, so they must not be harrowed or trampled on.

Harvesting is carried out using a combine harvester. It takes place between September and late October.

Harvesting can start when ¾ of the grains are ripe (staggered ripening), and the stalks have turned red and lost their upper leaves (25% grain moisture).

Buckwheat flowers do not all bloom at the same time on the plant, which means that harvesting has to be carried out before flowering is complete.

Buckwheat and Its Agronomic, Environmental and Nutritional Benefits

"At a time when we're facing critical questions about food, health, agriculture and biodiversity, buckwheat is part of the answer. This plant, 

with all its precious qualities, offers many solutions, and is at the heart of my commitment to a healthier way of living that respects nature. In the kitchen, it reveals its wealth of flavors."

Bertrand Larcher

Buckwheat is an eco-friendly, virtuous plant that responds perfectly to the priorities of our time, in terms of agronomy, nutrition and the environment.

For thousands of years, it has enhanced even the poorest soils, and is easy to grow. 

It's a plant that requires very little labor. Buckwheat doesn't need much nitrogen, and it doesn't require chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. Buckwheat can also be used in crop rotation as a natural weedkiller. 

However, growing buckwheat does have its challenges, in particular weather conditions. Buckwheat doesn't thrive in dry, arid or tropical climates: it doesn't like heat or drought, or soil that's too rich or dense. On the African continent, it grows only in South Africa, while in South America, it is found primarily in temperate southern regions. It's a plant that likes cool temperatures and needs rain in summer. 

At the Breizh Café Farm, we grow buckwheat using agroforestry, which is about putting trees back at the heart of farming systems, namely apple trees and hedgerows (in our case, around 3,000 trees). The idea is to cultivate both buckwheat and trees on the same plots. Agroforestry provides many benefits to farmers and is recognized as a lever for the development of agroecology: crop diversification, habitats for biodiversity, microclimates and carbon storage.

Buckwheat is a dicotyledon whose seeds are consumed in the same way as cereal grains. It is considered a "pseudocereal" because, unlike cereals, buckwheat is not a grass. As well as eating buckwheat seeds raw, toasted or roasted, they can be ground into flour. Buckwheat seeds and flour are beneficial to human health in a number of ways: they are gluten-free, contain high-quality proteins and are rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates.

<span>To conclude on the nutritional benefits of buckwheat, Prof. Legrand, Director of the Laboratory of Biochemistry & Human Nutrition at Agrocampus Ouest and INSERM, explains: "Buckwheat has a wide range of nutritional benefits. In particular, buckwheat is fairly rich in high-quality proteins, which are a good source of essential amino acids (including </span><span>lysine</span><span>), often lacking in cereals. Its carbohydrate content has a very moderate impact on </span><span>blood sugar</span><span>, and it is a good source of fiber. Finally, buckwheat is an interesting source of antioxidants."</span>

Champ de Sarrasin Ferme Breizh Café © Damien Lemennais