Do farmers shun the seasonal recruitment platform set up by the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA) following the call from the Ministry of Agriculture? They are only 5000 farmers to have registered in the " recruiter " part of the site, while 200,000 candidates have flocked since its creation two weeks ago. The Minister of Agriculture Didier Guillaume, who was this morning on FranceInfoTV, assured that these candidates were going to be divided between agriculture, the agro-food industry and logistics, and that there would be " no shortage food in France ”. He also called on the French to eat seasonal products, and on short circuits.
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Double speech
"The platform" Arms for your plate "was launched two weeks ago and there are already 200,000 candidates for 5,000 recruiters, " said Didier Guillaume. Admittedly, this beginning of spring is not the time when the campaign "gives" the most, but we will distribute this workforce over the agrifood industry, distribution and logistics. "
Asked about the resentment he would have suffered from the Prime Minister after his call to go and help the farmers, Didier Guillaume explained. “ There is no double talk. The boss is the president and there should be no double expression. You never win alone, you have to know how to be collective. I did not feel concerned by these criticisms because if the supply chain is broken, there will be nothing left to eat. So farmers have to be able to do their jobs. The objective is not to go and help a peasant at the other end of France, but to work within 10 kilometers of home , "he explained.
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On a possible shortage of food products in the coming days, Didier Guillaume wanted to be reassuring: “ I say to the French: there will be no shortage. Buy fresh products, vegetables, dairy products to encourage those who work. "
Less flour in stock
Asked about the low stocks of flour in supermarkets, the Minister of Agriculture explained that, " like eggs , flour is praised by the confined French who try their hand at cooking" . The minister clarified that France imported part of its flour to Germany, which it can no longer do at the moment. In addition, he recalled that 20 million French people ate in restaurants a day before confinement, which resulted in an obvious carry-over to consumption at home.