Pledges for angry farmers, before the start of social movements next week. The Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard announced this Saturday, November 30, a series of measures aimed at reducing constraints which weigh, according to her, on the lives of farmers. “Farmers are fed up with bans, procedures, standards […] These are truly burdens that have accumulated to the point of weakening the competitiveness of farms”she pointed out during a trip to the Loiret and the day after a meeting at the ministry with most of the sector's unions.
After the first part of the «simplification administrative» announced by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in February, this new wave of measures targets in particular two entities, criticized by farmers: the National Health Security Agency (ANSES) and the French Biodiversity Office (OFB).
ANSES and pesticides
Among the measures announced this Saturday by Annie Genevard, is the launch of a “Guidance Council for Crop Protection”. Created by decree, this body, chaired by the minister and bringing together stakeholders including farmers, research institutes and manufacturers of phytosanitary products, will aim to “prioritize instruction” by the Health Safety Agency (ANSES) requests for authorization of inputs, depending on the needs of the agricultural sectors.
In other words, it will be a question for the organization – in the sights of certain unions for having banned or restricted the use of certain pesticides before this is the case in the EU – of moving to the top of the pile of demands marketing of certain products, in order to meet the urgent needs of certain crops. “We are asking Anses to work as a priority on orphaned or poorly provided uses”said the minister. “I think the path to less phyto is a path that no one will return to. It is an orientation which is adopted by everyone, politicians and the profession. But for the sectors which are in crisis, we need ANSES to prioritize its work to respond to it”defended Annie Genevard.
Plant protection companies will be able to provide “technical expertise because they are the ones who develop the products”. This decree must also “improve the information of ministries […] ANSES draft decisions”. But on the merits of the decisions – authorization or prohibition –“it is not a question of dictating decisions to ANSES, which is an independent agency”however, she promised.
The OFB and the weapons of its agents
Concerning the French Biodiversity Office (OFB), which plays an environmental policing role, the director general will have to “immediately ensure the discretion of weapons in the event of an inspection, by using devices that allow them to be concealed. “It’s a major irritant.” for farmers, according to Annie Genevard.
There will be “gradual deployment on an experimental basis […] of wearing a pedestrian camerawhich allows you to trigger control recordings on site, if necessary. Generally, this allows, as we see with the firefighters and the police, to reduce tension.”.
Other measure“a circular to prefects to optimize the instruction capacities of breeding projects, to shorten deadlines and favor educational controls for recent settlers”. The setting of dates for agricultural work will be done at the local level, and a measure will prevent the same paper from being requested several times by administrations.
FNSEA and Satisfied Young Farmers
In response, the alliance between the FNSEA and the Young Farmers (JA) expressed this Saturday afternoon its satisfaction at having been “agreed on essential simplification measures to restore visibility to farmers”. “If these announcements go in the right direction, the work on simplification is far from complete,” however, they added while a new mobilization is planned from December 10 to “to denounce the low agricultural income”. Farmers are waiting “the urgent translation of these announcements so that they have a concrete effect on their daily lives”conclude the two organizations in their press release.
Annie Genevard plans to review the unions “before Christmas” for a new “meeting of simplification, which I would even be tempted to call the meeting of common sense”. Objective, “to overcome, methodically, all the obstacles to production”, according to her.
Update : at 1:48 p.m., with the addition of the reaction of the FNSEA and the JA.
