Food sovereignty: the crucial question of agricultural inputs

Baptiste Morin / Photo credit: LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP 6:20 a.m., February 29, 2024

Marc Fesneau must take stock this Thursday of the sovereignty plan for fruits and vegetables launched a year ago.

This is the first milestone in a broader undertaking launched by the executive in recent weeks: food sovereignty.

France today imports 20% of what it consumes.

But above all there is the crucial question of inputs.

First of all, there are the fertilizers used by our farmers.

In 2022, France imported more than 80% of its needs.

It has not always been the case.

40 years ago, the relationship was reversed: the majority of fertilizers consumed were produced in France.

Today, they come from abroad: from other European Union countries, but also from the United States or Russia, one of the world's main fertilizer exporters.

European sanctions against Moscow carefully avoid fertilizers.

4 million tons of American soybeans per year

Another subject of vigilance: plant proteins which are used to feed our pig, poultry and also cattle farms.

Europe is more than 70% dependent on protein imports;

France, up to 50%.

For example, it imports 4 million tonnes of soya per year.

It comes from America: the United States, Brazil or even Argentina.

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