It had arrived quickly, very quickly. On November 3, the day after the passage of storm Ciaran, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron went to Finistère to see the damage. Among the market gardeners, he discovered the extent of the damage caused by the violent gusts of wind. The promise: “We have a fight, which is to restore normal life as quickly as possible,” the president announced, assuring that the state of “natural disaster” and the “agricultural calamity” would be attributed “wherever we can.” TO DO “. This will not be the case, as storms are not included in the natural disaster systems. More than a month after the violent gale, farmers are still waiting.
“A day to travel and announce!” »
In a press release signed by the Brittany Chamber of Agriculture, professionals questioned in particular their minister Marc Fesneau, who had announced an emergency fund of 80 million euros almost a month ago for Brittany, Normandy and Hauts-de-France (victims of floods). “A month after Ciaran’s passage, the distribution between regions and the eligibility conditions are still not known. How many days to decide and concretely activate the announced envelope? », question the elected officials.
In November, a survey carried out among the profession received 2,150 responses from farms affected by bad weather, making it possible to assess the damage. “The damage is very significant to the point of compromising the sustainability of certain vegetable, market gardening, horticultural and livestock farms,” assures the Chamber of Agriculture, which is impatient to know the distribution of funds and the directions.
The FNSEA wants exemptions
Elected officials are also asking for “the acceleration of the issuance of building permits for reconstruction projects”. The body chaired and managed by the FNSEA also calls, as in every crisis, to take advantage of exemptions from the rules of the common agricultural policy and the Nitrates Directive.