France Bleu Gard Lozère gives the floor to farmers this Friday, November 15, 2024. It is a special Agricultural Crisis day across the entire France Bleu network. Almost a year after the start of the agricultural crisis, anger has still not subsided among farmers. Facing numerous difficulties (devastating rains, epidemics, drop in milk collection, EU-Mercosur free trade agreement, etc.), they are preparing for a new mobilization next week. But above all: who are these men and women! We chose to accompany two brothers on France Bleu Gard Lozère. One installed in Sanilhac, near Uzès (in Gard), the other in Bédouès-Cocurès, near Florac (In Lozère). Two farmers, 39 years old, and two brothers… twins!
Mathieu settled in Bédouès. He is a market gardener. And he chose to launch into organic farming two years ago.
“A market gardener on a small area can produce much more added value”, Mr. Bouet
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“It still makes me dream, I believe in it”
Today Mathieu Bouët works 7 days a week and yet does not make a living from his job. He makes direct salesbut also on the markets. However, he dreams of “agriculture on a human scale”. “There are plenty of things that we can produce in France, but that we import. We bring them from far away because it costs less, without taking into account the carbon cost. Strawberries for example.”
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His brother, Thomas (his Instagram account), is the great witness of the France Bleu Gard Lozère morning show. He is our guest live at 7:45 a.m.. Wines, oils (he cultivates picholine), fruit juices, flour, almonds, strawberries, peach apples, einkorn, he too has greatly diversified. In Sanilhac, he has 5 hectares of vines, 3 hectares of orchards, cereals.
Thomas previously worked in documentary film in Lyon. He chose to take over from his father when he retired five years ago. A return to land that has been in the family for around four centuries.
Thomas Bouet notably launched the “J’roote” operation in 2023, an operation specific to Uzège. J'root is an association founded by farmers from Uzège which aims to acquire and preserve agricultural or natural land with the aim of removing it from speculation while making it available to projects that meet the challenges of food autonomy, biodiversity and mitigation of climate change .
The Prime Minister Michel Barnier vWe respond on France Bleu. If you would like to ask him a question live in Ma France from 1 p.m. this Friday, call us now on 04 66 21 36 37.
