Agricultural crisis: the government's billion-euro aid plan criticized

The Minister of Agriculture presented a one billion euro agricultural aid plan on Friday morning. As soon as it was announced, it was already criticized by agricultural unions and opposition parties.

Time to take stock. While farmers must face repeated heatwaves and a historic drought, the Minister of Agriculture announced an aid plan for the agricultural world on Friday, September 4 in the morning. “A billion to change nothing,” exclaims La France insoumise in a press release, ensuring that this plan “completely misses its target. Half of the envelope will go to farmers who are already insured, that is to say a minority, continues the party. Those whose losses are not insured with private insurers will have much less. Yet these are the ones who need it the most!”

The government announces a plan worth more than a billion euros. “Faced with a climate crisis of exceptional magnitude, the State is mobilizing to leave no farmer alone: ​​more than a billion euros to quickly compensate losses and preserve our agricultural production potential,” said Annie Genevard. “Our agricultural and food sovereignty is at stake. This is a significant effort by the nation for its farmers.”

A plan that does not convince the agricultural unions. The Peasant Confederation speaks of a “real scandal”. “We need to review the copy,” says the FNSEA for its part.

Sébastien Lecornu asked, Thursday, the Minister of Public Accounts, David Amiel, "to carry out cancellations and freezes of State expenditure". They will be made immediately to finance the urgent expenses that the agricultural situation requires.

The Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard is still at the Châlons-en-Champagne Fair (Marne), where she speaks with members of the Rural Coordination. The exchange is tense. “Announcing 1 billion euros with recycling,” begins one of them, before being cut off by the minister: “I can’t let you say that!”

The Minister of Agriculture also details how this plan will be implemented. “As of next week, the departmental prefects, under the leadership of the regional prefects, will have at their disposal an emergency support fund,” she announced. Funding so farmers can “buy what they need”.

“We need this plan, but supplemented by at least one billion [euros] additional,” reacts on franceinfo Hervé Lapie, secretary general of the FNSEA. Affirming that the losses for the agricultural world are estimated at around 10 billion euros, he considers the envelope planned by the government insufficient.

Thomas Gibert, spokesperson for the Peasant Confederation, assures franceinfo that his movement will mobilize "in the coming days", to "not let the farms go out of business". He denounces “a real scandal” and a “first lie” on the part of the government.