Coronavirus: Containment, closing of markets ... Bad luck for French farmers - 20 Minutes

  • The Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, announced, on March 23, the closure of open and covered markets, in an attempt to stem the spread of the coronavirus on the territory.
  • The sudden disappearance of a direct sales channel threatens to grab the smallest operators.
  • Alternative solutions are being put in place to remedy a significant hole in the cash flow of producers, but will not allow everyone to survive the crisis.

"This is a situation that worries us terribly." Monique Rubin still can't believe it. The president of the Federation of the markets of France is still in shock of the brutal announcement of the Prime Minister, on March 23, of the closing of the open and covered markets, in an attempt to stem the spread of the coronavirus on the territory. "We have been fighting for several days," she explains. Many producers are angry and do not understand this decision. ” Because, despite the possibility of obtaining a derogation, all requests from mayors to reopen certain markets must go through the prefects. “However, many prefects systematically refuse! Assures the president.

So, the Federation joined the aid of agricultural unions, such as the Peasant Confederation and the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA) to make the government listen to reason. "We have contacted the Association of Mayors of France, and we have sent several letters to senators asking them to support the requests to maintain the markets," explains Nicolas Girod, spokesperson for the Confédération paysanne and breeder of dairy cows in the Jura. A guide to good practice on barrier gestures and the health protocol to be implemented on open markets has been created for prefects. A tool intended to reassure the most cautious of them.

Maintaining markets, a matter of survival

If the containment has paralyzed part of the country, many farmers have no choice but to continue their activity. Question of survival. But the sudden disappearance of a direct sales channel threatens to take the smallest operators by the throat.

“Me, on Monday, when they announced the closing of the markets, I had already plucked my poultry for my Wednesday sales, says Sylvie Colas, farmer in the Gers. It was not until 5 pm on Tuesday that I knew that the prefecture had finally accepted the request for exemption from the mayor of Billère (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) for the opening of the market. A chance for the poultry farmer. The abolition of the Billère market could have cost Sylvie a great deal, the direct sale of her products on the stalls representing 80% of her turnover.

Alternative routes, but not for everyone

Elsewhere, alternative solutions are being put in place to remedy a significant hole in the cash flow of producers, and a dead loss of fresh products waiting to be consumed. “The challenge, ultimately, is not to find other circuits, because they already exist. But it is above all to succeed in legally securing these alternatives ”, specifies Nicolas Girod.

Farmers 'markets, online sales platforms, producers' stores and deliveries: farmers are getting organized despite the crisis. "The goal is also to succeed in getting out of this crisis without one less farmer," asserts the breeder. Because there are already enough farmers in France to succeed in meeting a food demand for quality products. ” The downside: most online sales platforms take a significant percentage on each transaction, and the products of small producers, especially organic, are often not calibrated to be shelved in supermarkets.

The importance of "recreating a territorial dynamic"

In total, out of the 10,005 markets existing in France, the Federation of the markets of France estimates at 3,000 the number of maintained markets, for the majority in small communes. Too little, according to the unions, to allow the peasants to survive and to cope in the face of the health crisis and the confinement which could be prolonged again.

“It would be damn useful if, during this pandemic, we managed to reconnect with what is vital and a priority such as food. And we take the opportunity to recreate a territorial dynamic around an agriculture that relocates. That would be quite a victory, ”says Nicolas Girod. Hence what the State plans to compensate producers in full? Nothing is less sure.

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Coronavirus in Ile-de-France: Without markets and restaurants, how will farmers sell their produce?

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