The Minister of Agriculture has just announced a first simplification measure through single administrative control over farms. In Haute-Loire, FDSEA and JA had already worked in this direction with the Prefect. What had you obtained, and since when?
Nicolas Merle, president of the FDSEA43: This single controle, this was one of our requests made during the agricultural demonstrations at the beginning of 2024. In Haute-Loire, we asked it directly from the Prefect and we obtained it. Since April, the Single Control Service has been created for harmonization between theASP (services and payment agency), the DDETSPP (Departmental Directorate of Employment, Labor, Solidarity and Population Protection) and the DDT (Departmental Directorate of Territories). And it works… we have not had any feedback from farmers having been checked twice, except of course for health checks or in the case of compliance checks for buildings for example. We also negotiated that controls byOFB (French Biodiversity Office) are processed administratively by the DDT, which assesses the seriousness of the facts and can, for example, request the restoration of plots for environmental issues… This makes it possible to de-dramatize the situations and saves farmers from legal measures which can make them look like criminals. Haute-Loire was, until now, the only department to have obtained this simplification. We were looked at and congratulated by union officials from other departments.
Regarding controls, do you have any other points to review?
NM: We are drawing the attention of farmers to a situation that has been reported to us. Some did not receive the PAC aid deposit (in part or in full). This is perhaps because they are part of the 100 farms in Haute-Loire drawn at random as part of a European control protocol (in short, controls by controllers). If you are in this situation, we invite you to contact the DDT for explanations and possibly obtain a certificate to go see the bank, then the FDSEA or JA for information. Unionally, we asked that these farmers, like those who had control, not be penalized on the deposit; they may be, in the event of non-compliance, on the balance or on the following year. But to date, we have not been heard.
What will writing this measure in the official texts change on the ground?
NM: The formalization seals an agreement which was precarious and could be called into question, with a step backwards. It absolutely must be sealed in stone.
What are you still waiting for in terms of administrative simplification measures?
NM: This unique control is a first step towards more simplification administrativebut this is only part of our demands. Other points remain pending.
Regarding the measurements loupwe want farmers to be able to defend themselves in the event of attack; I know that we have had an attack on the department in recent days (see page 06).
We are also asking the administration for a little flexibility regarding the registrations requested from breeders regarding pharmacies. You must trust the breeder on the consistency of his management of treatments for his animals following the somewhat automatic prescriptions for recurring diseases, made by the veterinarian during the health inspection of the farm.
Likewise, within the framework of ICPE classification (Installations classified for environmental protection) farms, we ask that all livestock not be systematically placed in one over-regulation. For vulnerable areas, we expect more flexibility and consistency, particularly in the face of the weather. For example, this year with high rainfall, if we had not had an exemption, the pits would be full and overflowing today, which would be more environmentally dangerous than having spread until November 15. And for future zoning, we really need to take the production aspect into account before putting in place new rules; we must not deteriorate agricultural production for environmental measures! We want to pursue a policy of production and not management of green space.
A new national mobilization is planned in the coming days. Can you tell us more?
NM: Yes, we stay mobilized. We are still waiting for answers from the Government on requests not followed up on, despite some progress. We do not refrain from putting actions in place to put pressure on and bend the Government, particularly on health issues. The idea is to organize one-off lightning actions…
