Elections to the Gers Chamber of Agriculture: “We are here to be concrete and pragmatic”… the JA and the FDSEA defend their results and their project

This is not a date chosen at random. After presenting a joint list a few days ago, the Young Farmers and the FDSEA of Gers invited the press this Monday, January 20 for a new progress update in the middle of the electoral campaign, almost a year to the day after the launch of the major agricultural mobilization in the department (January 19, 2024 in L'Isle-Jourdain). “We were the first mobilized,” Guillaume Fauqué, the president of JA 32, did not fail to remind us on this occasion.

Beyond the demonstrations, the two agricultural unions claim to have defended the interests of farmers throughout the last mandate. In 2024 alone, the JA 32 thus claim 189 meetings, 37 meetings with the prefect and 227 days of effective permanence in the office. The two unions also highlight the potential financial gains that could result from the measures negotiated with previous governments, in particular for the installation (more than 57,000 euros according to them). “We are proud of this union record,” insists vice-president Xavier Duffau. “We are here to be concrete and pragmatic,” he continues.

Create “a dynamic of voting and participation”

These arguments were reminded to farmers this month during the 9 public meetings organized to present the draft mandate. A project structured around four main axes: production, defense of the farming profession, transmission and innovation. “This is what seems essential to us, at the level of the Gers department,” underlines Benjamin Constant, co-president of the FDSEA.

President of the Chamber of Agriculture and declared candidate for his succession, Bernard Malabirade wishes to create a “dynamic of voting and participation” with a list “capable of carrying the vision of the farmers of Gers, whatever their expectations”. He adds: “We wish to support all farmers, both in their taste for entrepreneurship, in their enthusiasm to create value in this department, but also to support those who are experiencing difficulties, and they are legion. We are experiencing them all here on our farms, whatever the production The Gers is a difficult agricultural land and many farmers are in difficulty currently and we are also in response to these difficulties.

For him, there is no doubt: the JA-FDSEA list is the reflection of a “multi-competent team” which can “be up to the task of defending these farmers in the future”. It remains to be seen whether this will be enough to convince Gers farmers to give him a majority at the end of the elections. As a reminder, voting (electronic and paper) has been open since January 15 and will close on January 31.