A broad public consultation of the French, on agriculture, food and the use of European funds for agricultural policy, will be launched from March to the end of May by the government, announced the Ministry of Agriculture, this Friday.
The modalities of this debate, organized by the national commission of public debate chaired by Chantal Jouanno, will be announced Sunday at a press conference at the Salon de l'Agriculture in Paris.
Nearly 9 billion euros in agricultural aid per year
The consultation of all French people responds to a request from the European Commission which wants each member state to develop its own national strategic plan (PSN), which should serve to set its priorities and choices for the allocation of agricultural subsidies, which represent the first EU budget. The conclusions of this consultation will be condensed in a report which will have to be delivered by the summer and sent before September in Brussels. Each State of the Union must send its own PSN.
In France, the leading agricultural power in the EU, the amount of European agricultural aid amounts to 9 billion euros per year. Reported at the individual level, these nine billion euros represent for some operators more than their income. The turnover of French agriculture reaches 78 billion euros per year.
"The debate can also help fight agribashing"
Certain voices are raised on the side of environmentalists in particular so that the CAP is used more to fight against global warming, for the environment and biodiversity, and therefore less to support the producers themselves. The current rise in tensions between urban dwellers and farmers is often linked to these subjects, as shown by the lively debates and clashes over the establishment of no-treatment zones (ZNTs) to reduce pesticides.
For Brussels, such a public debate serves to show that the Commission is not above ground and that it takes the temperature of European citizens. On the other hand, certain farmers, a profession which manages most of the space and land in France but represents little more than 2% of the population, risk feeling aggressed by the very fact of the rise in environmental recriminations. "The debate can also help fight agribashing," we hope the ministry.
Economy
Agricultural Show: Has the Egalim law improved the lot of farmers?
Politics
Agriculture fair: Glyphosate, Brexit… Emmanuel Macron promises to “protect” farmers
- Government
- Agriculture
- Agricultural centre
- Pac
- Consultation