The agricultural rum produced in Martinique is nicknamed the rum z'habitant and represents the bulk of Martinican production. To qualify as agricultural, it must be obtained from fresh sugar cane juice only. The canes are generally harvested the very day to guarantee their optimum freshness. Agricultural rum was the first white alcohol produced outside mainland France to benefit from an AOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) regulating its method of cultivation and distillation in 1996. The yield of the plots is limited to 120 tons of sugar cane per hectare to reduce the use of fertilizers. Irrigation and watering of the sugar cane cannot exceed six months per year, and only a limited number of varieties are authorized. As for the distillation, it must take place between January 2 and September 5 in a continuous multi-stage Creole column with reflux with regulated dimensions.