To help organic farmers overcome the recent drop in demand for their products, the government will grant several million euros more to promote their sector, announced Thursday the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau. For the communication itself, the government will release an envelope of 5 million euros per year for three years, starting in 2024, in addition to an aid of three million euros already announced in May.
The Fonds Avenir Bio, managed by Agence Bio and intended to help producers invest and promote their productions, will be supplemented by an additional five million euros per year, or 18 million euros in total. The objective is "to support (the) structuring effort that organic sectors need to consolidate their market," the ministry said in a message.
This strengthening of support for the sector was announced by Marc Fesneau during a visit to the Tech & Bio exhibition organized by the Chambers of Agriculture, which brings together thousands of farmers, breeders, suppliers and researchers around organic on Wednesday and Thursday in the Drôme. On Wednesday, the director of the organic agency, Laure Verdeau, had estimated that her agency had an insufficient communication budget to support the French in the food transition.
But after ten years of double-digit growth, the French organic market has been hit by inflation and in 2022 retail sales have fallen by nearly 5%. The National Federation of Organic Agriculture (Fnab) welcomed in a statement this "commitment in the long term".
