The elections opened since January 15 will take place until January 31 for the Chamber of Agriculture of Haute-Loire. The Peasant Confederation presented the first names on its list and its program at Guy Bremaud and Anna Ballais on the heights of the Desges valley, in the village of Madene, commune of Chazelles.
Led by the head of the list, Marie-Lise Brice, the peasant confederation list articulated its program around four axes.
Campaigning for a better income
“We need truly remunerative prices. The revolt that is brewing in the agricultural world is the lack of income. » At the national level, the union is campaigning to “require at least prices covering production costs by prohibiting downstream surcharges (industrial and mass distribution)” and denounces Mercosur-type free trade agreements. “It’s unfair competition. By letting this happen, we are letting the peasant world die here and on the other side of the planet,” said one candidate.
Facilitate access to land
The candidates returned to the reasons for their involvement in these elections. Starting with the installation, in a department where “the average farm is 60 hectares. » And the head of the list continues: “Union-wise, there is work to be done with the communities to maintain activity. Our campaign is oriented towards installation and transmission at all levels. We must encourage installation whatever the structure. Our territory lends itself to the installation of small farms. We want the leaders of these projects to be as well received by the Chamber as the big takeovers. This requires local measures. Reception is the job of the chambers of agriculture. There are still many small farms in our territory to take over and it is working. This helps to revitalize the area. »
-Adapt the standards
Another battleground: standards. “Currently, they are suitable for industrial sectors, not for small farm production. But we are not against all of them. We are in favor of social and environmental standards. These serve to preserve the commons,” noted a candidate.
Open the Chamber to the peasants
“We must open the Chamber more to farmers. In Haute-Loire, many farmers do not benefit from the aid to which they are nevertheless entitled. They have no idea what is going on there and do not always have access to technical advice. For example, to receive support for an investment, you must reach a threshold of €10,000. A lot of things would be possible without this threshold… We should always be able to call the Chamber of Agriculture. »
A subject to which she also added that of social protection. “There is a lot of anger, rightly so, on this point. There is a glaring lack of social protection; a farmer cannot afford to be sick… And for social support, there are things that the Chamber can do in connection with the MSA. »
