“Basins” – oops! “mega-basins”: MM. Emmanuel Sagot and Philippe Stoop on Atlantico

« Basins ” – whoops ! ” mega-basins “: Messrs. Emmanuel Sagot and Philippe Stoop on Atlantic

Gleaned from the canvas 977

Atlantic published an article written with four hands, ” Basins, groundwater and agriculture: small elements of putting into perspective militant discourse that frees itself from reality ».

Answered the questions, Mr. Emmanuel Sagot, farmer in Vendée, and Mr. Philippe Stoop, Director of Research and Innovation, ITKand corresponding member of the French Academy of Agriculture.

Their answers are small elements » that it is good to expose in a rational and educational way in the ocean of disinformation and ambient misinformation, which nothing seems to dry up.

Here is the introduction:

« Atlantico: We hear a lot regarding the “mega-basins” of Sainte-Soline. What is this project actually? What does it consist of? Is there a risk of hoarding?

Emmanuel Answer : The project consists in storing water when it is abundant in winter in order to no longer pump it in the summer and thus less “pull” on the water table during the low water period. Besides, mega-basin is not the name, but this is called a substitution reserve, because summer pumping in the aquifer is replaced by winter pumping in the aquifer with storage. No risk of hoarding since the volume of water stored is a volume of water that is already pumped [ma note : dans la pratique actuelle] in advance but in summer. Farmers who are connected to the reserves will be prohibited from pumping in the summer and their personal borehole will be destroyed and farmers who are not connected to the reserves will still have the right to use their borehole as before without worry. »

Remember that there are already basins ” – whoops ! of the ” mega-basins – in Vendée, that they are operational, that they have proven themselves both agriculturally and environmentally, and that they are not (or hardly) debated. We have discussed with great pleasure on this blog “ The reserve of substitution: kesako? by Mrs. Lucie Mainard (Les Jolies Rousses).

And here is the end:

« But wouldn’t it be better to switch to more sustainable and water-efficient forms of agriculture, instead of perpetuating the use of irrigation with basins? Besides, are these bedpans really a lasting solution?

Philippe Stoop : […]

As for switching to more sustainable forms of agriculture because they save more water, we must not delude ourselves regarding the levers of action available. Water meets an incompressible physiological need for crops, as for all living beings. The only levers of action are the improvement of irrigation efficiency, thanks to precision irrigation techniques. The report “Climate change, water and agriculture” of the Ministries of Agriculture and Sustainable Development estimated that the potential for action in this area is of the order of a 30% reduction in irrigation needs. There is much talk regarding improving the reserve in soil water, thanks to soil conservation agriculture (which is also favorable to biodiversity and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions), but its real effect on the water needs of crops is marginal, around 5 to 10% maximum following several years.If we want to further reduce the water consumption of crops, the only solution is to opt for less productive crops… which will certainly consume less water , but also will often be less efficient in terms of water use We often hear that the production of maize should be abandoned in view of the climatic situation, for example by replacing it with wheat, which grows earlier in the season and can do without irrigation. This is a rather paradoxical reasoning, when we know that maize (especially if it is irrigated) is the crop that makes the best use of water: the same ratio reminded us that in Gascony, with [une certaine quantité] of water (rain and irrigation combined), we obtain 5 tonnes of wheat, 5.2 tonnes of non-irrigated corn… and 9 tonnes of irrigated corn! In fact, the real problem with corn is not that it consumes too much water, but that it consumes it in a way that is too visible to city dwellers and environmentalists!

We have become accustomed in France to wanting to reduce the environmental footprint of our agriculture, without worrying regarding the effect on our production. As long as our food consumption does not decrease in proportion to our drop in production (and that politicians will be more hesitant to impose this reduction on all citizens, than to invent new constraints for farmers), this will only have a possible consequence: an increased dependence on imports, with the loss of sovereignty, and the “deforestation imports” which result from it. It is time for policies that claim to be agro-ecological to take into account the efficiency of our agricultural production factors, instead of considering that it is a dirty word inherited from a tradition. productivist: when we talk regarding efficiency in the use of water, it is regarding ecological efficiency, before being economic. »

One can only adhere to this demonstration.

But let’s add this: would it be good policy for France to lower its agricultural production – possibly by imposing a (drastic) reduction in our food consumption – and, at the same time, its export capacity?

Are we ready – in other words, stupid enough – to leave to geopolitical actors like Russia the task of supplying countries structurally in deficit, close to us or less close, and the ability to make vassals of them? on the international scene ?

We can only recommend reading the wonderful “ Geopolitics of wheat A vital product for global security by Mr. Sébastien Abis (IRIS Editions/Armand Colin). Even for those who have understood the strategic stakes since the aggression of Ukraine by Russia.

After written

We came across during our research on “ Mega-basins: Jean-Marc Jancovici explains everything regarding this controversial project “. Quite frankly, there are better explanations

Postscript 2

Pour « Mega-basins in the Aube: fishermen do not want them “, of the’East Lightningwe only have access to the chapô:

« On this highly flammable topical subject, the Departmental Fisheries Federation takes a clear position. In particular, it considers that mega-basins and other hillside retentions are dangerous for the preservation of aquatic environments, which are already in great suffering. »

Quite frankly, it does not fly high… The Lac du Der is not far…

Postscript 3

There is also ” Decryption. Will there be mega-basins in Brittany? by Mr. Romuald Bonnant on France 3 Regions.

This is an excellent decryption. Reader friends, take a closer look at the motivations of the people interviewed claiming to be Peasant Confederation.

There are of course other articles.