“I will fight tirelessly”, “agriculture is an integral part of our DNA”… the promises of Carole Delga

Carole Delga promet d'être aux côtés des agriculteurs dans leur combat. – LEO ARCANGELI

The president of the Occitanie Region explains her commitment to defending agriculture in a region where "the income of farmers is the lowest in France, this is not acceptable".

After a sequence of angry farmers, what is the message you want to convey for this international agricultural show ?

You know, I live in Comminges so I know the reality of the rural world and the daily lives of farmers well. I understand the anger that was expressed, it is legitimate. These are people who work a lot, who feel unloved and who have to adapt without support. I want to tell them that I am at their side and that I will fight tirelessly to defend quality agriculture that does not fall into poverty. In Occitanie, farmers' income is the lowest in France, this is not acceptable. They must be able to live with dignity from their work. My second message is to assure them of my full mobilization to ensure the application of the measures announced by the State. This is why I launched a regional committee to monitor government commitments.

You have tripled the budget linked to agriculture since your arrival as president of the Region, what more can the community do?

Indeed, we give ourselves the means to support our farmers on all fronts. We are also the 1st Region in terms of investment for agriculture and fishing: 12 euros per inhabitant, while the average for the Regions is more like 5 euros. We work hard to ensure that their employees are trained, so that their production tools and their company are able to respond to climate and economic challenges. We also support the official quality signs for which we are the leading region in Europe as well as investment in livestock farming and the organic sector which is suffering greatly.

In 2024, we are continuing with the same determination: wine sector contract to support our wine growers, signing of the first sustainable agriculture contracts to support sustainable practices, deployment of the Transmission plan to respond to the major challenges of generational renewal…

How to enable young people to settle down ?

I know how complex the installation procedures are in agriculture. With its new Plan for the installation and transfer of farms, the Region is mobilizing 190 M€ over 5 years. The Young Farmer endowment is a central element of our strategy. And then we have a fantastic tool: the first agricultural land created by the Region in 2021 which facilitates access to land.

Finally, in Occitania, the fight for parity is being waged everywhere. With the creation of a bonus of up to 2,000 € for the installation of female farmers, we are working to feminize these professions. This is how we meet the challenge of generational renewal. This is bearing fruit since Occitanie is the region with the most installations: between 2,200 and 2,500 each year!

You announced emergency measures to deal with the consequences of the drought in the region, what are they ?

Since the start of the year, we have been very active on the issue of water. I have alerted the government on several occasions and I am pleased that they have put in place a specific project director because we absolutely must succeed in reconciling the uses of water. For the moment, the responses provided by the State are incomplete, so I have announced a series of emergency measures to facilitate access to water. In conjunction with the Chambers of Agriculture and with our two development companies BRL and the CACG, we are implementing several measures which will reduce the financial costs of land irrigation. This will concern 6,300 farmers and wine growers.

You are committed to "consuming locally", how can we develop these short circuits and benefit Occitan farmers?

Agriculture and viticulture are an integral part of our DNA and the image of our region! The Sud de France brand – Occitanie is today a sign of recognition of our products for consumers and for mass distribution. This is a source of pride for many farmers and wine growers who fight every day. South of France – Occitanie is our standard and I will not let it go, despite sometimes bureaucratic decisions like that of the Minister of Agriculture to remove the brand from the labels. I say it again, our brand will continue to develop: always more members, always more promotional actions, in France and internationally, because behind our brand, there is there are jobs, businesses to pass on and an identity to defend.

Carole Delga received among 19 award-winning personalities the medal from the International Agricultural Show which rewards women and men who have given their time, their energy, their initiatives or ideas to the show in particular, to the show in particular, to the show rsquo;agriculture in general. I subscribe to read more