Will farmers soon be back on the streets to demonstrate? This is what the majority unions of the FDSEA and Young Farmers announced a little less than two weeks ago. To try to calm the discontent, the government has just taken a step towards them: the Minister of Agriculture, Annie Genevard, has just announced the establishment of a “single administrative control”to respond to the two unions who denounced the excess of controls – 35 to 40 checks per year for a farmer according to the FDSEA. This announcement leaves a certain number of doubtful farmers in Indre. For several minority unions, this was clearly not the priority.
“A bandage on a wooden leg”
“This is a cosmetic ad. This is an announcement which does not cost the government a penny, obviously, but above all which does not meet the real demands of the peasant world, which is still experiencing a bleeding in terms of a decline in facilities.” reacts Olivier Morin, breeder in Obterre and national secretary of Modef (Movement for the Defense of Family Farmers), who particularly emphasizes the erosion of the number of breeders in Indre. Olivier Morin compares the government's announcement to “a bandage on a wooden leg“. Robin Doubli, farmer in Pellevoisin and co-spokesperson for the Confédération paysanne in Indre, is slightly more measured, even if he also believes that easing controls was not the priority: “That might actually be a good measure. For farms which underwent several inspections per year, this could be a fairly significant stress factor, but at present, for us, it is absolutely not a priority (…) There is an anger which has arisen. expressed by the entire agricultural world, at the start of the year: the demands focused on making a living from our profession (…) We are asking for real structural changes, not small measures from right to left“.
The priority for Modef, as for the Peasant Confederation, is the question of farmers' income. The Peasant Confederation thus pleads for the establishment of floor prices, “that we can no longer sell at a loss “, explains Robin Doubli. The proposal was taken up by Emmanuel Macron during the last Agricultural Show, but it is far from unanimous.
The two minority unions decry the free trade agreement under negotiation between the European Union and the Mercosur countries (South America), which could allow the importation into France of products not respecting the standards in force in the country. Modef and the Peasant Confederation are calling for an end to this type of agreement and a moratorium on those already signed. Another burning issue: that of the health crisis affecting French breeders, with the circulation of the FCO and the MHE.
What concrete application?
Olivier Morin from Modef also questions the concrete application of this unique control; “jI didn't understand what they want to control in a year once” asks the Indrian breeder. He cites his case as an example: he is an organic breeder, he is therefore subject to control by his certifying body, surprise visits to check that the specifications are correctly applied, as well as veterinary visits. “These are different organizations, some are public, others parapublic, others private. I don’t see how we can pool different control points which cover different aspects in one go” underlines the national secretary of Modef. The farmer, based in Obterre, does not necessarily see these controls as a constraintthey are “for some of them justifiable, and in any case make it possible to guarantee the quality of our products, to guarantee that the public money that we sometimes receive is well used” believes Olivier Morin.
Modef, to which the Indrian farmer belongs, calls for mobilization in front of the prefectures from November 8to challenge both the reduction in the budget allocated to Agriculture in the 2025 budget, but also free trade agreements such as Mercosur.
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