Joseph Colombani, president of the Chamber of Agriculture of Haute-Corse and the FDSEA 2B, denounces this situation “deemed untenable“, “marked by late payments“and administrative complications”which continue to worsen the daily lives of island producers”.
“It was the FDSEA and the Young Farmers of Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud who organized this event.“, begins Joseph Colombani. The objective of this mobilization is clear: to denounce the non-payment of aid from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as the end-of-year holidays approach. “Some will spend the holidays without their income, without their aid, which represents between 70 and 80% of our income, significant sums necessary for the survival of farms. This aid is used to feed the animals, buy hay, in short, to keep the farm going. It's already hard with the aid, but then without…“, he confides.
“This aid should have been paid four or five years ago, and is blocked without us really knowing why, or even that there has been a notification of non-payment.” he adds.
A situation which generates incomprehension and a feeling of abandonment among farmers. According to Joseph Colombani, when they request information, they are told that the file is “in progress.“In reality, the payments are not coming.
The president of the Chamber of Agriculture of Haute-Corse and the FDSEA 2B also warns of a fateful deadline: “On December 31, as it will have been two years since the aid was activated, it will be definitively lost for the farmers of Niolo and Corsica. In fact, you have two years to activate the aid, but it has been two years since it was activated. So, after December 31, it will be ruined.”
“It’s dishonest and unhealthy”
The problem is compounded by the lack of official notifications.
Joseph Colombani deplores: “The problem with not being notified is that you cannot appeal to the administrative courts. It’s dishonest and unhealthy.” The lack of transparency in the processing of files “makes access to administrative justice extremely difficult“. Farmers therefore find themselves in a situation of total blockage, with no means of moving their case forward.
Another unpaid aid, according to farmers, concerns that of the Niolu pastoral groups which is for an average amount of 10,000 euros per year per breeder, and intended mainly to finance the purchase of hay. This aid affects around fifty farmers, according to Joseph Colombani. “It has been impossible to have effective consultation for two years, which is serious“, he deplores, emphasizing the inability of the authorities to resolve this situation. A situation that is all the more “unacceptable“that there is no real interlocutor to resolve these problems, according to Joseph Colombani.
“Everyone complains about administrative difficulties, but in Corsica it's even more true“
During the morning, Joseph Colombani and other farmers were able to speak with several administrative officials, in particular with the secretary general of the prefecture, Arnaud Millemann and with the DRAAF (Regional Directorate of Food, Agriculture and the forest of Corsica). “Everyone knows the subject and deplores it“, affirms Joseph Colombani. “They will try to reach Paris, but it’s complicatedé.” According to him, although administrative difficulties are a problem on a national scale, Corsica seems to be particularly bad off: “Everyone complains about administrative difficulties, but in Corsica it is even more true.”
Under the banners of the FDSEA and Young Farmers, the mobilized farmers say they are ready to “spend Christmas on the premises“from the DDTM if no response reaches them from Paris.”For some, it has lasted for 4 to 5 years, without explanation.“, declares Joseph Colombani. According to him, among the 30 pending files, 26 concern Corsican farmers.
This situation therefore leaves island farmers in an impasse, with blocked aid and administrative procedures which multiply without ever being successful.
