Monday November 25, 2024, the last session of the Chamber of Agriculture chaired by Jacques Molières saw the presentation of the results of the mandate where the future orientations of the body were posed, with a balance to be maintained between farms in a context which always remains delicate.
A page is turning at the Aveyron Chamber of Agriculture. Jacques Molières, at its head since 2019, therefore chaired its last session, Monday November 25, 2024. While waiting for the elections which will take place next January, the elected representatives of the Chamber met one last time under the presidency of the one who has just completed his second mandate in a very particular context, that of an agricultural crisis which has deeply affected the profession for several months now.
“A tool at the service of farmers and their territory”
During his term of office, Jacques Molières and the Chamber teams will therefore have experienced the health crisis linked to Covid-19, the war in Ukraine, the various epizootics which have struck numerous farms or even the increasingly frequent climatic hazards which weaken certain sectors of agriculture. “I have always said that the Chamber of Agriculture is only a tool at the service of farmers and its territory,” underlined Jacques Molières.
And throughout this last session, he made a point of reminding us of this. Particularly with regard to the installation of photovoltaic panels on the ground. The elected representatives of the Chamber once again spoke of their firm and definitive position on the subject. Arnaud Viala, the president of the Department, also deplored “that certain projects have slipped through the cracks of a net that is not yet fully established. The problem is a case law that is being established”.
Local supply
“There is still potential for photovoltaics but on the roof of installations, hydroelectricity can also be improved,” he adds. Concerning renewable energies, a caveat was made for methanization which “consumes the best arable land”, according to Dominique Barrau.
At the same time, always with this aim of using “the Chamber as a tool”a further step has been taken in the creation of a department-wide food supply platform. To summarize, it would be a question of encouraging central kitchens to operate as much as possible with local producers, to initially serve Aveyron college students. By the end of 2025, the system should be in place. However, “an effort will have to be asked of families”explains Arnaud Viala. “It is not realistic to cook with local food for €3.20 per student. There are adjustments to be made in this area and we will have to take responsibility for them.”
Remember the weight of agriculture
The directions taken by the Chamber of Agriculture will be extended by the next president and his teams. “We must think about preserving the balance between assets, economics and territory”confides Jacques Molières. And this is to use a formula that was dear to him for many years: “We must maintain a balance between the soil and the herd. Our agriculture is not doing that badly. Things have been achieved but there are still others to be done. I have never stopped reminding people of the weight of agriculture in Aveyron but also in Occitanie”he insists.
A line of conduct that Jacques Molières followed throughout his mandate and as Dominique Barrau mentioned: “Before wanting to copy the best, we must focus on helping medium-sized farms evolve”always with this idea of establishing a solid base in order to maintain the broadest possible agriculture, with decent incomes for the greatest number.
A balance today disrupted by the national and international context, but “that the collective and the attachment to consensus rather than compromise”as Jacques Molières mentioned, should make it possible to perpetuate this identity of Aveyron agriculture, while focusing on the installation and renewal of generations.
By the numbers
1 126 organic farms were recorded by the Chamber of Agriculture in 2023, compared to 858 in 858.
73 953 hectares are dedicated to organic in 2023, compared to 68,191 hectares two years ago.
97 students were trained as apprentices at Bernussou in 2024.
6 000 Farmers were trained on the mandate with Agricultural Social Promotion Association (ADPSA).
1 300 farmers were supported in the new CAP 2023-2027.
75 farmers in difficulty are supported, on average and every year.
150 Farmers have been supported since the establishment of three prevention units, created during the mandate, against unhappiness in agriculture.
