According to a survey conducted by the Nicolas Hulot Foundation on the use of pesticides in France, only 1% of billions of euros of public money goes to organic or agro-ecological farms.

A policy which therefore does not allow a change of model, and has no real impact on their reduction.

While France's goal was to achieve a 50% drop in the use of pesticides by 2025, the country has actually been at + 25% for 10 years.

To try to understand why we are not managing to reduce the use of pesticides, the Nicolas Hulot Foundation conducted a survey for a year.

And conclusion, of the billions of euros of public money, only 1% goes to organic or agro-ecological farms.

"The incentive is not there"

In fact, public money finances the maintenance of pesticides, instead of supporting farmers towards a change of model.

Subsidies from Europe and the government therefore take the surface area into account but not the agricultural, organic or conventional model, as Caroline Faraldo, agriculture and food manager of the NGO, explains.

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"A farmer who uses a lot of pesticides will be able to benefit from as much public funding as a farmer who engages in the transformation of his system or even who maintains a bocage or very old hedges. So there is no incentive. not here".

"A tiny operational part"

Out of 23 billion euros per year of public money, 11% are directed towards a reduction in pesticides, and only 1% has a real impact, according to Nicolas Hulot.

"A small part intends to try to participate in a more virtuous policy on the environmental plan. And a tiny part is really operational to go in the direction of the reduction of pesticides".

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Still, for the Hulot Foundation, this is a pivotal moment for action.

France still has six months to refine its project before the future common agricultural policy, defined for the years 2023 to 2027.