In some parts of France, permanently faced with low cereal yields, "
15% of farmers will not make it through the year
" without additional help, the Chambers of Agriculture warned on Tuesday.
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"
If we do not have measures, we will have 15% of farmers who will not make it through the year
" in areas with low agronomic potential, said the president of the Chambers of Agriculture, Sébastien Windsor, during a conference Press.
These cultivation zones, also called “
intermediate zones
”, cover some twenty metropolitan departments which stretch out on a diagonal connecting the Grand-Est to New Aquitaine.
The soils are poorer and shallower there than in Beauce or in the north of the country.
This year, farmers have been particularly confronted with the decline in cereal crop yields, hampering their ability to plant new crops.
For some, revenues are becoming "
extremely negative
" in front of a turnover cut by half and constant charges, underlined Mr. Windsor.
He pleads for a “
somewhat extraordinary collective mobilization
” based in particular on direct aid and loans guaranteed by the State.
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"
When you have four years in a row without income, the banks don't lend you any more money,
" he said, saying that some farmers are considering selling their combine or finding work outside to relieve their treasuries.
The president of the Chambers of Agriculture also defended the maintenance by the State of the budget allocated to these structures.
Last year, the Chambers of Agriculture had narrowly avoided a blow of plane: faced with the sling of parliamentarians and the agricultural sector, the government had renounced the reduction of 45 million euros in their resources (out of 750 million euros of total budget).
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The government's stimulus plan, which provides for 1.2 billion euros for agriculture and food, "
will not happen if the Chambers of Agriculture are not there
" to support farmers, particularly towards practices that are more respectful of the environment, said Sébastien Windsor, calling on the State not to "
cut their legs
".
