In Sourdun (Seine-et-Marne),
As you go deeper into the roads of the immense department of Seine-et-Marne, the straight lines become longer and longer, and the fields of cereals increasingly vast. Appointment was made in Sourdun, a village located a good hour and a half south-east of Paris, in Basse-Brie. A few kilometers further, it is already Aube, and another region, that of the Grand-Est. Clément Torpier awaits us on this rainy Tuesday in February. In winter, the work is often done away from the fields. The young 31-year-old farmer is preparing a wheat truck which will then go to a cooperative or an agricultural trade. “That’s what I love about my job. There is no typical day. The only factor that governs my schedule is the weather! »
The demographic challenge
Installed on the family farm for four years after agricultural studies which led him to a degree in agronomy and sustainable development, he is part of this new generation of farmers that France needs. Nearly half of French farmers will retire in the next ten years. A demographic situation that raises fears of a downgrade of the first agricultural power in the European Union, with a total production of 70.3 billion euros in 2016, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
This is the meaning of the commitment of Clément Torpier, who two years ago became president of the Young Farmers (JA) of Ile-de-France, one of the fourteen regional branches of this “apolitical and independent” union. , entirely dedicated to the cause of young people”, as stated on its website. “This demographic challenge is our hobbyhorse, asserts their Ile-de-France leader. We make every effort to best support young people wishing to settle. The renewal of generations is a vital subject. »
This is good, it is also the opinion of the government, as Minister Julien Denormandie explained in our columns last July, at the launch of a major national communication campaign around “living professions”. Efforts appreciated by our interlocutor, but which are not enough. “We have somewhat forgotten the strategic place of agriculture. We must be accompanied on innovation, research, on the question of the security of our income. We are also subject to more and more climatic hazards, we must be able to protect ourselves from them. This is how we will attract new operators. »
In recent years, there have been an average of around a hundred installations per year in Ile-de-France, half of which via the young farmers endowment (DJA), government aid reserved for those under 40 to start their activity (32,700 euros in average in 2020). The union of the JA holds for its part of the points “reception-installation”. “We receive project leaders there, we make sure that they are prepared, that what they want to do is viable in every way and we guide them”, explains Clément. Sometimes you have to say no, like when a smart guy came up with the idea of raising dolphins in the Seine. For real.
New faces and new uses
Less anecdotal: “We have noticed for some time that the typology of these project leaders is changing. There are more and more of them who do not come from an agricultural background,” notes the president of the JA in his region. “This is proof that the profession is changing, and moreover it is also becoming more feminized. We have more and more women managing their farms, and I’m particularly happy about that. The result of the undermining work of the union, which organizes interventions in schools and uses social networks to renew the image of the profession.
For that, it can also count on a few ambassadors – not necessarily members of the JA – who have made their mark on YouTube in recent years. For example Bastien Couture (alias Stervio), 21 years old, followed by 346,000 subscribers in his adventures on Farming Simulator, a game where you take care of a farm like in real life. The young man also shoots a few videos on the family farm, near Cahors. In the latest, he presents the T175, a state-of-the-art, hyper-connected tractor.
New CAP and ecological transition
Another “agritubeur”, David Forge, a 41-year-old cereal farmer who has published a video a week telling his daily life since 2015. nice success (127,000 subscribers, more than 31 million views in total), which led him to meet President Macron at the Elysée Palace in 2018. “The future of French agriculture depends on audacity, commitment. The generation before would never have thought of showing their daily life, the head of state had told him on this occasion. To succeed, you have to break the codes and show that there is a new perspective. »
For his part, Clément Torpier is counting more on the Agricultural Show, which begins on Saturday, to have the ear of the presidential candidates. He will be there all next week, with several subjects to defend. The challenge of generational renewal, of course, but also “food sovereignty, the importance of which we saw during the Covid-19 crisis” and the new CAP which will come into force in 2023. “It will be very restrictive, and will even go against the objective of having a more environmental agriculture on certain points”, he warns.
This subject of ecological transition is hot. It is “indispensable”, obviously, but cannot be done “anyhow”, believes our farmer. He uses a few phytosanitary products, “by obligation”. He claims a reasoned use, based on a good knowledge of the tolerance and harmfulness thresholds for his plants, and on careful monitoring of weather conditions so as not to trigger at any time. Piling up the regulations would, according to him, be “counterproductive” because “unmanageable” for farmers in the organization of the different crops on their plots, calling into question what is the foundation of the profession.
“Sometimes, the speeches are not in line with agricultural issues. We are on utopian ideas, disconnected from reality. We must accompany us and find viable alternative solutions, pleads the farmer. We are moving towards healthier, more sustainable agriculture. We have made efforts, we will continue to do so, but we must not deny ourselves production tools without an alternative, otherwise we are heading for disaster. “Beautiful debates in perspective with the candidates, “if the opportunity presents itself”, imagines Clément with a smile.