Tomato producers denounced, Friday April 26, unfair competition from Moroccan tomatoes by carrying out labeling actions in supermarkets in Agen, Rennes, Brest and Avignon, at the initiative of the Légumes de France, specialized association of the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA). Even if a few demonstrations are still organized on the national territory, nothing compares to the movement of anger which was expressed at the beginning of the year.
However, the government continues to give guarantees to farmers and, first and foremost, to its main union, the FNSEA. He, in fact, unveiled, on Saturday April 27, a new set of measures, adding to the sixty-seven already presented by the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, on January 26. Taking up one of the commitments of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, during the inauguration of the Agricultural Show in Paris, he announced support for the cash flow of agricultural operations.
Initially, the government encouraged banks to play this role. But Arnaud Rousseau, the president of the FNSEA, himself recognized that “the banks do not want to support certain profiles of farmers in difficulty”. Finally, the State asks the public investment bank Bpifrance to release an envelope of 100 million euros for this purpose. It should both provide cash flow aid of up to 75,000 euros per farm or loan guarantees of up to 200,000 euros.
The government hopes to turn the page
The State is also taking out its check book to release 50 million euros intended to finance Mediterranean agriculture. Experiments should be launched in three departments, Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude and Hérault, to support farmers affected by climate change and drought.
The main watchword of the FNSEA is that of the competitiveness of agriculture. The government is taking it up and translating it into the announcement of the acceleration of water storage projects in France. Around a hundred should be implemented by the end of the year by modifying a 2021 decree in order to simplify exemptions. Regarding the Ecophyto 2030 plan, the original ambition of which was to reduce the use of phytosanitary products in France, an appointment has been made at the beginning of May to establish the new strategy. The choice of the monitoring indicator is reiterated. The European indicator will replace the NODU (number of unit doses) previously in force in France, against the advice of environmental organizations.
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