If the farmers' cause touched you with the blockages, this event is for you.
The 4th edition of the Salon à la ferme takes place throughout France until February 25.
Organized by the Peasant Confederation, Fadear (peasant agriculture network) and the Friends of the Peasant Confederation, this event offers the public the opportunity to discover peasant agriculture with open days on more than 150 farms from 70 departments.
Visits, cooking workshops and even farmers' markets, five farms from Île-de-France are participating in this event which will end one day after the start of the International Agricultural Show in Paris.
“The 4th edition is placed under the theme of food sovereignty,” announces Laurence Marandola, national spokesperson for the Confédération paysanne from the farm of Cristiana Modica and Emmanuel Vandame in Villiers-le-Bâcle (Essonne), on the plateau of Saclay, for the launch press conference.
An expression “overused for years” according to the Peasant Confederation.
“We retain the definition which was given for the first time at the 1996 World Food Summit,” continues Laurence Marandola.
Food sovereignty is the right of populations, their States or Unions to define their agricultural and food policy, without dumping towards third countries.
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Since the discontent of the agricultural world, this term has come up a lot in debates.
During his announcements on February 1, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal expressed his desire to “enshrine the objective of sovereignty in law”.
“This must involve stopping free trade and ultra-liberalization,” insists Laurence Marandola.
This system leaves many losers, in France and elsewhere.
The idea is not to crush our neighbors, but that each farmer can have a decent income while feeding the population healthily.
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For the Peasant Confederation, there is no single model.
But what Cristiana Modica and Emmanuel Vandame have managed to develop over the past twenty years constitutes an example of peasant agriculture.
Conversion of a conventional farm on the Saclay plateau to organic farming, creation of an Amap (Association for the Maintenance of Peasant Agriculture) with 235 member families, purchase of a mill to transform organic wheat into flour and opening it There has been a bakery for more than ten years to sell the bread made on site... So many investments and diversification which allow them to hire seven full-time employees for an operation of 220 ha.
“The farmers want to make a living from their work and feed the people next to their farms”
“We rely on an ultra-short circuit,” confides the farming couple.
We received the government's announcements extremely badly.
We share the anger of the farmers who participated in the blockades.
But the government completely forgot about organic farming, it just responded to those who shouted the loudest.
The message sent is
continue to pollute, and organic farmers, live as best you can
.
This is irresponsible, knowing that we are on the verge of a climate divide.
»
Villiers-le-Bâcle (Essonne), Friday February 16, 2024. Cristiana Modica and Emmanuel Vandame are based on the Saclay plateau where they grow organic cereals.
They have a mill to transform wheat into flour and a bakery.
The couple, who are bearing the brunt of the concreteization of the Saclay plateau with the construction of line 18 of the Grand Paris Express, also deplore the lack of local public policies.
“In 2012, when Le Fournil opened, we supplied bread to three school canteens, a high school and a university restaurant in Orsay,” explain Cristiana Modica and Emmanuel Vandame.
Today, we only have two university restaurants on campus, even though the EGalim law has since been passed.
But it is not respected.
The same goes for territorial food projects (PAT): on the plateau, we are 4 farms, organic or not, not a single one works with collective catering.
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Read alsoOrganic farmers are also angry but believe that “standards serve to protect us”
The Peasant Confederation shares this anger.
While the FNSEA and the Young Farmers have lifted the blockages - but threaten to mobilize again for the International Agricultural Show - the 3rd agricultural union has not stopped the actions.
While the next ones are being prepared in the Paris region, Laurence Marandola is sounding the alarm: “More than 200 farms disappear every week.
Half of the farmers are over 55 years old.
We see entire sectors of agriculture, such as beekeeping, fruits and vegetables or livestock farming, very threatened.
And the government continues to serve agribusiness.
Farmers must stop working at a loss.
They want to make a living from their profession and feed the people near them.
»
Farm show, until February 25 everywhere in France, free.
In Île-de-France, this Saturday, February 17: at the Potager de l'Épinay farm in Orcemont (Yvelines) from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.;
February 24 at the Plateau Briard organic farm in Mandres-les-Roses (Val-de-Marne) from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Beaux Ares farm in Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne (Seine-et-Marne ) from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the Bois Piget farm in Dormelles (Seine-et-Marne) from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.;
Sunday February 25 at the Rétal farm in Liverdy-en-Brie (Seine-et-Marne) from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The entire program on
http://ile-de-france.confederationpaysanne.fr
.