A duck farm in the Gers. – Gilles Durand / 20 Minutes
The government will release money to cover part of the shortfall due to avian flu. The French state plans to initially mobilize nearly 90 million euros to compensate professionals who have suffered operating losses, in particular duck breeders in the southwest, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Tuesday.
“It’s a first step, the final amount [du plan d’indemnisation] will probably be higher, ”underlined the cabinet of Minister Julien Denormandie after a meeting with stakeholders in the sector.
Over 3.5 million poultry slaughtered
The funds must be released, in part, quickly to support all the links – hatcheries, breeders, industrialists – whose activity has been disrupted by the avian flu which has raged this winter. This resulted in the slaughter of more than 3.5 million poultry, mainly ducks, and prolonged production stoppages. This compensation for economic losses is complementary to the health compensation paid to breeders whose herds have been eliminated.
In detail, 40 million euros are earmarked for breeders, 30 million euros upstream (breeding breeding animals, hatching), 500,000 euros specifically towards farms of laying hens prevented from functioning normally, and 9 millions to game breeders unable to sell their produce. Downstream companies, in particular private raw material processors, will be able to receive ten million euros in the form of repayable cash advances.
Brussels will however have its say. The devices planned for hatching and downstream must be submitted to the European authorities before being fully endorsed, the ministry said.