YouExcessive rain and clouds are gathering over the agricultural sector. The cereal industry has only been able to see a drop of almost a quarter in the production of milling wheat this year, after difficult harvests. The current harvest also promises to be poor, almost 18% less than in 2023. As for cattle and sheep breeders, they are faced with a growing wave of bluetongue, but also a resumption of epizootic haemorrhagic disease. It is in this difficult context for a certain number of farmers, shaken by the consequences of climate change, that a tense agricultural start begins.
A return to school that began in a unique way, with the resignation of the Minister of Agriculture, in this case Marc Fesneau, who had to deal with hot topics during the summer. The appointment of Michel Barnier in Matignon on 5 September, after a long period of uncertainty, was immediately commented on by agricultural organisations. All this highlights his time on the Rue de Varenne, as well as his experience in Brussels. Some recall his management of sensitive issues, such as the limitation of the use of phytosanitary products or the development of organic farming, where the environmental dimension went hand in hand with agricultural imperatives. Others speak of his plan to support livestock farming.
In any case, the next government is eagerly awaited to clear up a number of uncertainties. The surprise dissolution of the National Assembly decreed by Emmanuel Macron has, in fact, blocked important initiatives. The first of these is none other than the draft law on agricultural sovereignty and generational renewal in agriculture, adopted on 28 May by the National Assembly. It has been on hold ever since.
“We don’t play the card of one party or the other”
Taking advantage of this political vacuum, the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA) launched an unprecedented initiative. The union marked its return to school with the publication of a bill that it described as “key ring” and which he renamed: law for “entrepreneurship in agriculture”. A rewrite of the text approved by the deputies with numerous additions on tax matters, but above all a relaxation of the use of phytosanitary products, with a questioning of the role of the National Agency for Food Safety, the environment and work. The crucial issue of land is absent. “It should be seen as a solid contribution to public debate,” Dominique Potier, socialist deputy for Meurthe-et-Moselle, reacts.
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