The cancellation of the Agricultural Show due to the health crisis, a first in the history of the event, leaves room for a myriad of initiatives for farmers more than ever in demand for dialogue with citizens and Public powers.
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Si calf, cow, pig and brood will not come to town this year, the city is invited to come and walk on the farmyard: from February 27 to March 7, initial dates of the Agricultural Show, some 200 members of the Confédération paysanne will thus hold “Salon à la ferme”.
“The show is an essential moment in our union life, to meet our fellow citizens, elected officials, members of the government, parliamentarians and our colleagues as well. If it didn’t happen, it would really be lacking ”, advances Véronique Marchesseau, dairy cow breeder in Morbihan and general secretary of the Confédération paysanne (the 3rd agricultural union in France).
The Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie is thus expected with a firm footing in Morbihan to inaugurate the operation and discuss the next CAP. At the latest news, no response from the minister, and spite for the “Conf ‘”.
Julien Denormandie plans to go, today, to a farm in Côte-d’Or with Emmanuel Macron.
Châlons-en-Champagne, Tours, Angoulême and Montpellier will host the general competition, which celebrated its 150th anniversary last year
The Rural Coordination has chosen to go to Paris on March 4 for a demonstration which aims to denounce “Agricultural malaise”
: “The idea is to denounce farms that are closing, not to make farms open”, indicates a spokesperson for the second agricultural union in the country, who wants “To talk about things that annoy”.
Conversely, the FNSEA, the majority union, intends in the first place “Promote initiatives, communicate in a positive way”, via the major national media.
The FNSEA will also contribute to the organization of the general agricultural competition, maintained in a version “Exploded” as part of a “French Agriculture Week”, planned from 13 to 24 May by the organizers of the agricultural fair, in compensation. The general competition will be organized in four cities, “So as not to exceed the 1,000-person mark if the virus continues to rage in May”, says Jean-Luc Poulain, president of the show.
Châlons-en-Champagne, Tours, Angoulême and Montpellier will thus welcome this institution that is the open competition, which celebrated its 150th anniversary last year. For health reasons, only the products will be awarded, there will not be the traditional parades of shiny cattle or pigs.
To taste the farm products, farmers’ markets will also be organized everywhere, “Only” made in France “sold by the producer”, specifies Mr. Poulain. A Parisian particularity, a market of Ile-de-France products and a national market will be held, if all goes well, in the capital on May 14 and 15.
“National days in June”
Under the banner “Love meat and those who make it”, “Made in meat” meetings (6th edition) are organized from May 24 to 30. On the program (still meager): open farms, visit of the Laissac cattle market (Aveyron) or even presentation by butchers of their know-how.
From there, the French will be able to continue June 18, 19 and 20 with the first “national days of agriculture”, organized in particular by the Agridemain association. An event which aims to welcome 500,000 French people over three days to 5,000 agricultural or agrifood sites in France. Maybe before the next show …
A world brought back to the fore
“The crisis has shown the importance of having reliable and quality food, and the agrifood chain has held on, with food sovereignty which has returned to the fore,” said Gilles Maréchal, director of Agridemain, an association recently. which works to raise awareness of the agricultural professions. A sign that consumers were afraid of running out, the rush for pasta, flour and preserves has revived the debate on the French agricultural model. Because the leading agricultural producer in Europe may export wine, milk and cereals, it imports nearly half of the chicken, fruits and vegetables consumed by the French.
President Emmanuel Macron has promised a “reconquest”. One hundred million euros (out of the 100 billion of the recovery plan) must therefore subsidize research and the purchase of equipment to increase French production of plant proteins, in order to reduce dependence on Brazilian soybeans, criticized for its role in the deforestation of the Amazon.
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In numbers
With a production of 76 billion euros, France remains the leading agricultural producer in the European Union in 2019, and weighs 17.1% of the total. It is followed by Germany, Italy and Spain.
A little over 50% of France is covered with agricultural land. Major crops (cereals, oilseeds, beets, etc.) represent nearly half of the agricultural area used.
The country counts around 400,000 farmer-operators and losing between 1.5% and 2% per year. They now represent only 1.5% of total employment in the country, a proportion more than four times in forty years. In 1982, they were 1.6 million, or 7.1% of total employment.
Weekly duration usual working hours amounted to 55 hours on average, compared to 37 hours for all employed people in 2019.
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