The chamber of agriculture, the FRSEA and the Young Farmers (JA) of Ile-de-France
"wonder about the ideological purpose"
of the free agricultural school project in Yvelines partly funded by billionaire Xavier Niel, in a press release sent to AFP on Wednesday.
Read also: Xavier Niel launches Hectar, a school for farmers
The objective of this school called Hectar, which is due to open in September in Lévis-Saint-Nom, 50 km from Paris, is to train
"an adult public in professional retraining in order to be an agricultural employee or takeover"
of the farm, according to a source close to the case.
About 2,000 people will be trained each year in this school where there will be
"a whole ecosystem on site, of startups, partner spaces, spaces for experimentation"
, according to this source.
"We refuse that the renewal of generations, a crucial issue for the future of our family farming, is the next victim of excessive financialization",
write the Chamber of Agriculture, the Regional Federation of Farmers Unions (FRSEA) and the Young Farmers (JA) of Ile-de-France in a joint press release.
This school
"constitutes a renunciation for our agriculture, strong in its diversity"
, affirm the organization and the two unions which
"wonder about the ideological finality of this project
".
Referendum on the animal cause
A petition for a referendum on the animal cause had been launched at the beginning of July the founder of the operator Free Xavier Niel, and two other bosses of the "tech", Marc Simoncini and Jacques-Antoine Granjon, in particular to obtain the end of cage and intensive farming.
"Is leaving a defender of the RIP (referendum of shared initiative) breeding, with such dogmatic postures, to train our future farmers compatible with a neutral agricultural education?"
Ask the chamber of agriculture and the two unions in their press release.
According to
Capital
magazine
,
the school will be managed by a company created for the occasion, S4H, with a capital of 100,000 euros, 51% owned by Audrey Bourolleau, former agricultural advisor to Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée, and 49 % by NJJ Exclusive, Xavier Niel's personal company.
With an area exceeding 600 hectares, the school will have a canteen with 200 places, certified organic crops or a dairy that will produce milk and cheese, according to the economic monthly.