After attacking the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), Tuesday evening in Montbard, the FDSEA (Departmental Federation of Farmers' Unions) 21 and the Young Farmers of Côte-d'Or (JA 21) had a second target this week: the Services and Payments Agency (ASP), whose premises are located in the Toison d'Or district, in Dijon. A public establishment responsible – among other things – for controlling beneficiaries, then paying European aid from the CAP (common agricultural policy).
It was there, this Thursday afternoon, that around sixty operators met. Of which a dozen had come with their tractors. And their skips, filled with bales of rotting straw, manure, branches and tires. Mixture that they poured, in turn, at the threshold of the ASP door. A parade lasting about an hour, to illustrate the anger of a profession which considers itself wronged by delays in the payment of CAP aid.
“We find it difficult to understand why the State forgets us”
“Normally, a deposit is paid at the beginning of October and the balance arrives a little later. But today, in Côte-d'Or, around a hundred files have still not received the first deposit,” explains Yannick Salomon, secretary general of JA 21. “At one time, it was explained to us that the controls were delaying the payment of this aid. But to date, some have still not been controlled. When we know that the situation of many farms is already complicated in terms of cash flow, it is difficult to understand why the State forgets us. The excuses are always the same: lack of manpower, software problems, etc. But our cash flow is not expandable, especially given the economic context and the poor harvests we had to face this year. »
“In France, we restrict our production”
For his part, the president of FDSEA 21, Jacques de Loisy, believes that “farmers must be able to work peacefully, using the same means of production as elsewhere in Europe”. While denouncing regulatory inconsistencies from one country to another. “For example, in Belgium, if you don't clean a ditch, you get a fine. In France, if you clean a ditch, you get a fine. It's scandalous. We also want to be able to store water more easily. The population is increasing, and so are the needs. But in France, we restrict our production. However, when we produce, it brings money to the State and supports families. »
France
