“Setting a course to prepare for the future”: how the Occitanie Region is responding to the agricultural crisis

Carole Delga veut défendre les produits d’Occitanie. MIDI LIBRE – .

A la veille d’une session du conseil régional Carole Delga, présidente de l'assemblée, a présenté les nouvelles mesures d’aide aux agriculteurs, en particulier les jeunes agriculteurs pour faciliter leur installation. 

The president of the Occitanie Region reiterated her priorities this Wednesday, March 27, while the plenary assembly of the regional council will be held this Thursday: mobility for all and support for agriculture. "We remain very committed to soft, carbon-free mobility which represents a quarter of our budget. We continue to think that limiting travel is a bad idea; it is not possible to convince the population to prevent them from traveling. Human beings need encounters, emancipation through the discovery of new horizons…", said the president, nonetheless aware of the ;impact on the environment: "We must continue research and innovation, promote new practices, particularly towards soft and collective mobility. We continue to be the number one rail region.

A state-region plan contract will be unveiled during the meeting but Carole Delga said that despite an extension of 93 million euros; "the negotiations are not over" to get even more from the State.

Two new aid measures to tackle the agricultural crisis

Carole Delga also insisted on regional responses to the current agricultural crisis which will be at the heart of the debates of elected officials by presenting two new aids: massive support for agricultural investments of ;a budget envelope which jumps by 28 M€ to 50 M€ for 2024. "This will make it possible to support most projects", estimated Jean-Louis Cazaubon, vice-president in charge of Food Sovereignty. This aid concerns livestock buildings, mechanical weeding and tillage equipment, processing or marketing tools, for agritourism…hellip;

A second aid concerns an aid fund for the installation of young farmers of up to 100,000 euros, compared to 20 euros; nbsp;000 € so far. And Vincent Labarthe, vice-president in charge of Agriculture, maintained that there would be no selection. All young farmers will be prioritized and some will obtain funding".

Foods from Occitanie in school restaurants

Because Carole Delga estimated that this plan in favor of agriculture was part of a "course to prepare for the future". In this sense, she renews her request to modify the law to allow school restaurants in high schools, colleges and even schools in Occitania to serve meals locally, or from Occitan agriculture. But for this, "we need to simplify the purchase for local authorities", explains Carole Delga who suggests putting the Occitalim supply platform: "At the high school level, this represents 22 million meals per year, we can multiply by three if we add all the educational establishments in the region", counts Jean-Louis Cazaubon. Who also estimates that "the young people of today are the consumers of tomorrow".

The regional elected official also insisted on the interest of agricultural land, the tool created on a regional scale to help the installation of young farmers by purchasing land from banks while agriculture pays rent for a specific period. A major issue when "50 % of farmers in Occitanie will retire within 10 years, representing a million hectares’ quot;. A challenge to take up "to maintain food autonomy in our region", concluded the elected official.

The 158 regional elected officials are expected this Thursday, March 28 at 10 a.m. for a new dual-site plenary assembly, from the regional hotels of Toulouse and Montpellier. Fourteen reports are on the menu. The advice can be followed live by clicking on this link.  I subscribe to read more