On Europe 1, Michel Biero, executive director of Lidl France, believes that the Food law, supposed to ensure better remuneration for farmers, has not yet borne fruit.

For him, more transparency is needed on the margins made by the various players, in particular manufacturers. 

INTERVIEW

Will we one day be able to put a stop to the pauperization of the agricultural world?

On Monday, the annual commercial negotiations which determine the prices of products sold in supermarkets (excluding private labels) and the remuneration of all links in the food chain are completed.

These discussions took place in a tense atmosphere, and for their part, dairy farmers are worried about the regular drop in their prices.

On Europe 1, Michel Biero, the executive director of Lidl France, believes that more transparency is needed, especially on the part of manufacturers, so that the Food law can really produce its effects. 

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"We are living through very complicated periods in terms of agriculture, but it has been going on for decades," he admits, and this while "everyone had a lot of hope when the Food Law issued from the Estates General of Food (Egalim) was created in January 2019 ".

In September, the Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie himself noted that the law supposed to ensure better remuneration for farmers had "not yet achieved" its objectives.

"The adjustment variable remains the breeder"

Among the reasons explaining the failure of the law, "manufacturers do not necessarily play total transparency", points out Michel Biero.

However, he adds, "without transparency, the Egalim law will not be of much use", and in the meantime, "the adjustment variable remains the breeder". 

For the guest from Europe 1, we need "total transparency" on the margins, and above all, "we must legislate".

"Without law, without constraint, without sanction, it will not work," he adds, noting that various laws in force need to be reviewed.

"The breeders must be seated around the table"

“The negotiation of national brands (which represent 80% of the food sold by distributors) is very complex and governed by a law of 'modernization of the economy', which is contradictory to the Egalim law. The two cannot function, ”he assures us.

Also, suggests Michel Biero, "either we must dust off the law of 'modernization of the economy', or it must be brought together with the Egalim law for a beautiful and great law which finally asks for transparency and correctly remunerates the breeders". 

To conclude, the executive director of Lidl France suggests making greater use of so-called "tripartite" agreements.

"The breeders must be seated around the table, so that they put their production costs on the table."

It is still necessary, he says, "that the industrialists engage with this tripartite".