Pause of the Ecophyto plan, the relief of a northern vegetable producer

Lionel Gougelot / Credits: AFP/YASUYOSHI CHIBA 7:31 a.m., February 2, 2024

Ecophyto stopped. To try to calm the discontent of farmers, the government announced a series of measures. Among them, the pausing of the plan which aimed to reduce the use of pesticides by 2030 which will be "reworked on certain aspects and simplified" according to Marc Fesneau, the Minister of Agriculture. On the side of the farmers concerned, this promise is received with caution. 

In the north of France, some operators view Ecophyto's break favorably. This is the case of Quentin Destombes whose market gardening production is penalized by Belgian competition which does not have the same restrictive rules regarding pesticides.

“Crops like green beans, endives, spinach which are subject to a withdrawal of active ingredients, while at 200 meters, we have Belgium which has the right. So this moratorium will surely allow us to give ourselves the vision. But we want concrete cases and quickly,” he tells Europe 1. 

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A still very general orientation 

For the moment, the Minister of Agriculture's announcement is only a vague direction for farmers. If the government slows down on bans on phytosanitary products, the main thing for Quentin is that the same regulations are applied throughout Europe in order to be able to fight on equal terms with Belgian or Dutch producers. "We have the impression of not playing in the same category. We have weights on our feet while we have better quality surfaces. Opposite, it looks like they have F1 cars. If in France, we have the same rules as in Europe, that can only be positive.” 

After these announcements from the executive, Quentin left the blockage point he occupied at the Belgian border. But the operator left with one certainty: if the commitments are not kept, he will return to the roads.