Var (département)

History

Var was formed in 1790 of a part of Lower Provence, but in 1860 it was reduced by the transfer of the district of Grasse to the newly formed département of the Alpes-Maritimes, which is why the Var River does not now flow in the département to which it gives its name.

The Var is also famous for its wine production - the town of Bandol in particular for its red wine.

Geography

Var is bounded on the north by the département of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (the Verdon river forming the boundary), on the east by that of the Alpes-Maritimes, on the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the west by the département of the Bouches-du-Rhône.

Its area is 5,973 km², its greatest length is about 62 miles, and its greatest breadth about 56 miles.

The Var is a diverse region encompassing mountains, beautiful ocean, plains, and valleys. In the north, the famous "Canyon du Verdon" is a wonderful place for hikers, kayakers, and nature lovers.

Agriculture

80,000 hectares is given over to agriculture in the Var, 13% of the total area of the département. 38,000 people depend on agriculture, directly or indirectly, for their livelihoods. Sales of agricultural products run at 610 million euros a year, of which 45% is sales of wines and 42% of horticultural products.

Vines and viticultural related activities account for 34,500 hectares of farmland. The 450 domaines / cooperatives and the 4 AOCs(appelation d'origine controlleé) produce 1.5m hectolitres (3.3m UK gallons) of wine a year.

The département has 1000 hectares of horticultural land (of which 400 are covered). The Var is France's largest grower of cut flowers, producing some 500 million stems a year.

Livestock farming is mainly sheep (50,000 animals) and goats (4,200 animals).

Other important agricultural products include olives (4,200 hectares, a quarter of all French olive groves, and some 40 mills), figs - the Var produces 80% of France's figs, and honey (800 tonnes a year). There are also 900 hectares of market gardens.

This article is licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Var (département)".