“It's heartbreaking”: Jérôme Despey discusses the uprooting of vines in Hérault

"It's heartbreaking": Jérôme Despey discusses the uprooting of vines in Hérault

Jérôme Despey : “Les vignerons n’ont pas encore tranché dans leur tête, mais beaucoup manifestent de l’intérêt sur le sujet.” Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART

Jérôme Despey, président de la Chambre d’agriculture de l’Hérault et du Conseil spécialisé vin et cidre de FranceAgrimer redoute que les demandes soient supérieures.

Although the filing of applications for the uprooting of vines will not open until October 15, do you have any idea of ​​the number of hectares that could be uprooted in Hérault, and more broadly in Languedoc-Roussillon? ?

We will only really know when the filing of applications closes, on November 13 at noon. What I can tell you, based on the survey that FranceAgrimer conducted this summer, and to which a little over 5,000 winegrowers from all production areas responded (5%), the intentions were for 15,400 ha of permanent uprooting and 6,800 ha of temporary uprooting on a national scale.

Of these 22,200 ha, 10,000 ha are located in Languedoc-Roussillon, two thirds of which are in permanent uprooting and one third in temporary uprooting, with Aude leading the requests, then Hérault, Gard and Pyrénées-Orientales. Next comes the Rhone Valley. These two basins represent 60% of uprooting intentions on a national scale.

That said, the survey does not reflect the reality of this October. On the one hand, because of the economic deterioration of this summer and a weak harvest which have increased the dismay of winegrowers. On the other hand, because the envelope of 120 M€ is not up to the level of the first announcements of the minister (150 M€) and only concerns the definitive uprooting whereas we had also requested temporary uprooting. There is therefore a risk that there will be higher demands than the survey figures.

Therefore, the envelope granted on October 3 corresponds to how many hectares ?

With 120 million euros, based on a grubbing-up of 4,000 euros for one hectare, this represents approximately 30,000 ha. If we manage to get 150 million euros, we could grub up to 37,500 ha. But from what I hear on the ground, in Hérault and elsewhere, this risks exceeding 37,500 ha. I am afraid that the envelope will therefore not be sufficient while there is great disarray in the wine world. We are going to fight to obtain more and to have temporary uprooting included so that those who want to stay in the sector can have the possibility of restructuring their vineyards and replanting according to the markets.

On October 7, you began your series of meetings for farmers throughout the Hérault region. What are their questions on this subject ?

The winegrowers, at the time we speak (October 8), have not yet decided in their minds, but many are showing interest in the subject, particularly in the Béziers region, and outside the department, in Fitou and in the Pyrénées-Orientales, all areas where many vines are dying due to the drought. Also, uprooting is considered by them as a lifeline. It is also heartbreaking. Some are asking questions about temporary uprooting. Will there be any with a dedicated envelope ? If there is a lack of credits, what will happen to them ?

I subscribe to read the rest

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

(function(d,s){d.getElementById("licnt2061").src= "https://counter.yadro.ru/hit?t44.6;r"+escape(d.referrer)+ ((typeof(s)=="undefined")?"":";s"+s.width+"*"+s.height+"*"+ (s.colorDepth?s.colorDepth:s.pixelDepth))+";u"+escape(d.URL)+ ";h"+escape(d.title.substring(0,150))+";"+Math.random()}) (document,screen)