REPORTAGE
In the North, farmers fear another dark year. In the department, several territories have been placed on drought alert and restrictions limiting water consumption have been put in place. Difficult conditions which could have serious consequences for the health of the agricultural sector.
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Vincent, an operator in the Dunkirk region, thus looks at his field with concern. "Regarding the wheat, we see that they do not even reach us at knee height. They should reach us at the waist," he explains. The yield to the quintal may well be halved, ditto for beets and flax. For flax, the crop could even be lost this year.
And the few showers in recent days will not improve the situation. "If these showers represent three, five, six millimeters, it is not enough for crops, it does not fit into the ground, it is dried the next day with the wind and the sun", assures Vincent .
"I'm afraid that fall will be a very hard time"
For his part, Jean-Christophe Ruffin, head of the FDSEA in the North, believes that this drought risks further weakening farms. "We had the coronavirus which impacted everyone in agriculture. It has already generated a great deal of stress on the farms, and then comes the drought, which will also be very expensive", worries he at the microphone of Europe 1. And to conclude: "I am afraid that autumn will be a very difficult period at the agricultural level. I see people tired of doing this job under these conditions."
For the sectors concerned, the reinforced drought alert runs until July 31. But the agricultural world fears that it will be extended until the fall.