Anger of farmers: “It’s going to be complicated for a member of the government to tour the Show”

David Sève, durant l'occupation de l'A9. Midi Libre – ALEXIS BETHUNE

Alors que le Salon de l'agriculture approche (il débute le 24 février), David Sève, président de la FDSEA du Gard fait le point sur les mesures et leur application.

It has been more than two weeks since you left camp on the highway after the new measures announced. You have the feeling that the State and mass distribution are moving forward ?

It's not going fast enough. I hear the government's response when it says that we cannot erase twenty years of inaction in two weeks. But we ask to go as quickly as possible.

What moves forward in your eyes ?

For assistance to winegrowers, the files must be returned by next weekend. I saw that there are controls in supermarkets… Afterwards, we don't expect everything from the State. At the union level, we asked the minister to bring together major retailers to highlight French wines. The president of Lidl has already committed to withdrawing all Spanish wines from bases in the south of France. He let us know. On the other hand, we still have problems with the famous crop insurance. The referencing system does not work so much for livestock as for fruits and vegetables. People are never eligible for the scheme. And then there is always inflation, the increase in charges of 30 to 40% that we cannot pass on.

For viticulture aid, you say that it won't go very far.

Aid from the emergency fund will represent 3,000 to 10,000 euros per eligible farm. That’s not what’s going to change the face of the world! As for the grubbing-up premiums, once the vines are removed, there will not be much left. But beyond that, we must work towards a surge of economic patriotism.

And convince the communities…

Yes, so that community canteens are more local and organic.

The peasant confederation denounces the freezing of the ecophyto plan… Are your positions incompatible ?

You must not make the wrong target. I can understand that we do not have the same opinions, intellectually. But locally, there are points of convergence, on farmers' income for example. When it comes to phyto products, you won't find a farmer happy to use them. But if they do it, it is to protect their cultures. If tomorrow we find an economically viable system, which allows us to stop using products, of course we will. Look for the apple. To protect orchards, the mating disruption method is used. On the other hand, for cherries, we removed active ingredients and we have almost nothing left to fight against the cherry fly. We have had huge losses and now we are importing processed products… By wanting to do well, the opposite effect is occurring.

Do you have the feeling that the base is calmer after the measurements or is anger still brewing ?

It is still smoldering, because concretely, I am told, nothing has yet happened for the farmers.  Until then, there will surely be actions to help people understand the plight of the agricultural world. People are not going to let themselves die peacefully. 

Are you going to the Salon de l'Agriculture in Paris ?

Yes, we have no reason to boycott it, in the sense that it is a meeting with the public. I think the national union leaders will have got the messages across. On the other hand, it's sure that it's going to be complicated for a member of the government to go around the show. Because anger is always there.