“Our demands are simple, clear and in the hands of the government! Income for farmers by lowering charges and reducing unfair competition.” Faced with recent government measures and a few days before the return of agricultural anger to the streets, the union expresses its dissatisfaction and denounces reforms deemed insufficient to resolve the structural challenges of the agricultural sector. While the announcements are increasing, Rural Coordination 47 (CR47) considers that one-off measures will not be enough to rectify a situation which requires a real overhaul. They consider in particular that the Agricultural Orientation Law and the Egalim Law are “empty shells with pretty words but without concrete measures”, and add that the fourth version of the Egalim law remains ineffective.
A lack of structural measures to respond to the crisis
CR47 criticizes in particular the government's “self-satisfaction” with measures deemed “insufficient” and “without real impact”. According to the organization, the announced reforms do not improve the situation of farmers. “The numerous envelopes deployed are one-off aid, too often anecdotal, and do not resolve structural issues over time,” they emphasize. To emerge from this crisis, farmers are demanding profound reforms and structural measures to restore income to farmers. Two main areas are highlighted: lowering charges and a review of French regulations to combat unfair competition from products imported from other European countries.
Reducing costs: an absolute priority
CR47 insists on the need for an in-depth reform of social contributions and payroll costs. “Contributions must be based on the real income of farmers, that is to say on the salary they pay themselves, the base of MSA contributions must be revised”, they affirm, specifying that the current contributions are based on fictitious income, far from the reality on the ground. They also call for measures aimed at reducing labor costs, one of the main factors which make French agricultural production uncompetitive on the European market. “The high cost of labor in France has a strong impact on the costs of agricultural production, which makes them non-competitive on the European market,” they emphasize. Among their proposals, increasing the amount of Occasional Agricultural Workers (TODE) to two minimum wages, as well as extending the system to Agricultural Equipment Use Cooperatives (CUMA), are considered essential.
The impact of energy and taxes
In response to rising energy costs, particularly electricity and gas, CR47 calls for immediate support measures. “A price shield must be deployed in order to protect farmers from inflation on these energies essential to production,” they ask, stressing that the increase in energy prices directly impacts their profitability, while the prices of sales of their products do not follow this same dynamic. The organization also insists on the need for a review of agricultural taxation. “The tax exemption on capital gains from real estate sales must also be rectified so that the social exemption is granted,” they add, calling for a review of current finance laws to reduce the tax pressure on farms. In addition, the elimination of the additional tax on phytosanitary products is considered essential. “Phytosanitary products are already subject to VAT, the additional tax is intolerable,” protest the farmers, who emphasize that this tax is added to already high costs and weighs even more on a profession already in difficulty.
Competitiveness in danger: the need to reform French standards
One of the most controversial points in the CR47 press release concerns French standards for phytosanitary products, considered too strict compared to European standards. “We want nothing more than regulation on phytopharmaceutical molecules identical to other European countries,” they claim, citing products like neonicotinoids, coragen or acetamiprid, which are banned in France but authorized elsewhere in Europe . In the absence of effective alternatives, they consider that “these are farms and even entire sectors which are condemned to disappear in France”. Furthermore, CR47 denounces the “overtransposition” of European standards, which impose additional constraints on French farmers without them being applied in other European countries. “In Europe, the concentration threshold for nitrates in water is much higher than in France,” they recall, calling for harmonization of thresholds and recognition of other non-agricultural sources of pollution.
Related News :