The image shocked. On Saturday, more than 1,500 tonnes of wheat were dumped on the railway tracks by activists who had attacked a freight train traveling in central Brittany. An action supposed to target a soybean train and denounce the “factory farms in Brittany”. Everywhere, the image of wheat wasted on the tracks has made the political class and the agricultural unions jump. In the Breton countryside, the punch operation is visibly struggling to pass. Because since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, French and European agriculture have been in panic. With its tanks and its missiles, Russia is martyring a people. But it also weakens the entire food chain of the planet, undermined by the soaring price of gas, fuel and cereals. An armed conflict that has repercussions on all farms. And especially in the first French agricultural region.
The gas is blazing and the tomatoes are cold
The gas had not waited for the entry of Russian tanks in Ukraine to ignite. But since the invasion orchestrated by Vladimir Putin, the price has literally skyrocketed. In the Breton countryside, the pain is difficult to collect. “The price has been multiplied by ten, it’s madness”, testifies Hervé Conan. This market gardener is based in Paimpol, in the Côtes d’Armor, where he grows cabbage, potatoes and squash in the open field. But also tomatoes, which he grows in heated greenhouses. “Normally, it costs us 60,000 to 100,000 euros per hectare. There, we could reach the million. It’s impossible ! “.
In his entourage, some have chosen to start later, canceling their order of plants. “They still paid for their plants. But even doing that, they were winners.” He chose to lower the temperature a little in his greenhouses. But he knows that he takes the risk of seeing diseases (fungi) invite themselves to his plantations, in particular because of the humidity. Production will also be lower. “By heating, we greatly limit (chemical) treatments,” he explains. “What worries me is the long term. We don’t know what impact we will have on the sale price, ”slips Hervé Conan.
The cereals are racing and the animals are hungry
If a market gardener can lower the temperature in his greenhouses, breeders cannot do the same with the food of their animals. With soaring cereal prices, the sector is worried. If the cattle go more to the fields, the problem is enormous for the pigs reared above ground, which are 100% dependent on the feed purchased by the breeders from their cooperative. “We took + 100 euros per ton. We were at 300 euros last year, that’s a huge increase, ”explains Didier Lucas, pig breeder in Saint-Alban, near Lamballe (Côtes d’Armor). The shock is colossal for the sector, which sees the cost price increase by 40 cents per kilo of meat. At the moment, this famous kilo is trading around 1.50 euros at the Cadran market in Plérin. This shows the importance of the outbreak of wheat.
Especially since the profession has had a dark year 2021, with many breeders suffering very significant losses. “It’s abysmal. The price must go back to more than two euros per kilo, otherwise…”, is alarmed the president of the Chamber of Agriculture of Côtes d’Armor.
In Spain, the leading European pork producer, there would be “about a month’s worth of cereals in stock”. Based in Finistère, the president of the regional chamber of agriculture André Sergent is worried about a possible world famine in the face of the scarcity of materials such as wheat, sunflower or soy. “What will happen in a few months? The leading cereal-producing country in Europe, France uses a third of its production (approximately 21 million tonnes) to feed its animals.
Russian fertilizers have seen their prices grow
In Brittany, another problem awaits conventional agriculture. That of the supply of fertilizers, a good part of which is manufactured in factories in Russia and Ukraine. The armed conflict has already driven up prices and raised fears of a short-term shortage. According to our information, fertilizers have already seen their price tripled. Faced with this situation, many operators have decided to limit inputs. “We put less, sometimes just in the furrow in which we plant”, slips a Breton market gardener. He, like the others, will probably produce a little less this year.