Benjamin Peter 08:16, June 07, 2022
Hail this weekend caused damage to crops, particularly among winegrowers in Gironde, Landes and Gers, but it also leaves indelible marks on the morale of farmers.
For some, these last four years have all been shortened or diminished by climatic hazards.
To the point that some are seriously considering changing jobs.
"We have been suffering from climatic hazards for three years. We are always working harder to try to get out of it but I don't know how far we will be able to get there".
Jean-Marc Pesquidoux is upset.
He walks through his 55 ha of vines which are used to produce wine, from the Côte de Gascogne appellation.
Only three hectares were not affected by hail.
He who started at 8 years old with his father and now works with his brother sees the disasters accumulate.
Frost, hail sometimes drought like this year.
His agricultural land where he cultivates cereals on 70ha was also heavily affected.
"We are upset. We have more morale. Financially we make loans to repay other loans, I don't know if that's a solution," laments Jean-Marc.
"We ask ourselves the question. Will we have to continue the activity?"
Lately he has offered his services to other farmers to try to bring in some cash.
"But it's still extra work when we already have too much work on our farms," he regrets.
"This is not a life"
"I've always been in the wine sector, it's in our blood but we've been wondering for some time if we won't have to change jobs. But what we don't know. We're not too clumsy so we could go to public works", asks Jean-Marc Pesquidoux.
Above all, he sees working conditions deteriorating.
"There is not a day off. It's between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. every day," he describes.
"When it's just to try to survive, it's exhausting. Who is going to work day and night for not even a quarter of the minimum wage? In what activity do we see that? None."
For the moment, Jean-Marc Pesquidoux is waiting to know the extent of the damage, to know if certain plots will be able to start again.
"As long as we are healthy we must continue but until when? My father retired and in the two years that followed he died because he was worn out. I have a little one who is three years old , I leave in the morning, he sleeps, I come back in the evening, he sleeps. It's not a life."
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“I would like to leave something to my children”
What holds him back is the family tradition, the fear of squandering the heritage of those who preceded him, even if he is convinced that bigger estates could make him attractive offers.
There is also the desire to pass on this heritage.
"We think of the elders who have always fought to try to do something and have a piece of land. Selling is not what I have fought for all my life and I would like to leave something to my children. “, he explains.
"But we also wonder if it wouldn't be a poisoned gift to pass on a property like this to them."