2023-10-03 17:05:34
Livestock breeding, “it has to pay”. The Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau assured that there was “no question”, in the name of the fight once morest inflation, “of going back” on the laws aimed at increasing the income of farmers, Tuesday on the first day from the top of the breeding farm, near Clermont-Ferrand.
Since Emmanuel Macron’s first election in 2017, several laws (Egalim) have been adopted so that farmers are no longer subjected to the quest for the lowest price.
This building is shaken by inflation (another +9.6% on food products between September 2022 and September 2023). The government has presented a bill to advance annual negotiations between supermarkets and their major agri-food suppliers (Mondelez, Nestlé, Danone, etc.) in the hope of lowering prices more quickly.
“We are not going to sacrifice agriculture,” assures Marc Fesneau from the arena of the competition honoring the best representatives of the Limousin breed, a meat cow.
Behind him, a judge details the qualities of the bulls presented in the competition: “wide and open pelvises”, “thickness of fillet”, “fineness of bones”.
A breeder calls out a little later: “I would like to know if the Ministry of Agriculture still has power” in the face of the “bullshit” of the Ministry of the Economy which has alienated the agricultural profession by wanting to advance negotiations commercial.
“There is no question of returning to Egalim,” replies the minister, stressing that better remuneration is essential for young people to take over, while one in two operators will retire within ten years.
– “Good hope” –
Professionals are concerned regarding the decline in livestock numbers – 16.4 million milk and meat cows compared to 20.2 in 2000 – and the decline in French beef and milk production.
They did not digest a report from the Court of Auditors in May recommending “defining a reduction strategy” in the number of cows to reduce France’s carbon footprint.
“Every time we lose an animal, it is imported from the other side of the planet” to feed the French, says Patrick Bénézit, president of the National Bovine Federation during the presentation of a “manifesto” in favor of ruminant breeding supported by the specialized associations of the majority union FNSEA, and signed by nearly 1,000 local elected officials.
“There are never too many of us to defend breeding,” said the minister.
The State will contribute “at least three million euros” to communicate on the “contributions of breeding” and the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire will announce “within the week” a tax exemption measure for breeders, according to Marc Fesneau.
Furthermore, “we will put at least 400 million euros in loans guaranteed by the State” for investments in livestock farming, specifies his office.
In the sheep hall, breeders offer him a T-shirt on which is written “breeders face predators”: “The wolf plan (presented on September 18, Editor’s note) does not go far enough, we need a radical evolution of the shooting protocol” to reduce the population, defends Claude Font (FNSEA).
The minister repeated that he supported the review of the status of the animal, at this protected stage.
The trade show, which expects more than 100,000 visitors until Friday, is disrupted by the appearance in France of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EMD) mainly affecting cattle.
The latest report shows 19 outbreaks in the southwest. Animal movements are restricted. Result: while the summit usually welcomes around 2,000 animals, 30% of the cows, goats and sheep (also affected by bluetongue) are missing, the summit president, Jacques Chazalet, told AFP.
“We weren’t overzealous” but “we had to be serious” on the health front, Marc Fesneau tells him. France, however, is negotiating to restore the flow of live cattle to Spain, Italy and the Maghreb.
“We are trying to resolve the issue of MHE,” explains the minister to breeders in Salers. He said that the situation with Spain was “unblocked”, that he was “hopeful” regarding Italy but “it will be a little longer with Algeria”.
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