The French government has unveiled new measures to support the country’s farmers including cash loans of up to €75,000 and will abandon an increase in the price of agricultural diesel.
It will also allocate €50 million to support climate change adaptation projects.
The French Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, said he was keen to respond to the concerns that farmers have voiced as he confirmed details of a new set of “commitments” which are aimed at supporting the agricultural sector.
The prime minister stated: “Our government is fully committed to supporting our farmers, who play a vital role in our society.
“These additional measures, in addition to the 67 measures that I announced on January 26, demonstrate our determination to meet the needs of our farmers and guarantee a prosperous future for our agriculture”.
French farmers have repeatedly highlighted their concerns about cheap food imports, EU regulation and “unfair” competition – earlier this year various farming groups organised a series of high profile protests.
French farmers
In a statement the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty said that Prime Minister Attal was strengthening his commitment to the agricultural sector which it described as “an essential pillar of our economy and our food sovereignty”.
The new measures announced by the French prime minister include;
- A list of 100 agricultural water projects “compatible with sustainable resource management” which will be finalised by the end of year;
- An improvement in agricultural pensions;
- Supplementing cash flow support measures with cash flow loans of up to €75,000 and guaranteeing commercial bank loans of up to €200,000 for farms experiencing difficulties;
- A tax reduction on undeveloped land and an improvement in the operation of the precautionary savings allocation;
- Proposals to simplify the daily life of French farmers which include a reinforced “livestock” sovereignty plan and enabling the cultivation of fallow land;
- Promoting the transfer of farms to younger generations.
The Prime Minister Attal and his government have called on all stakeholders in the agricultural sector to work together in “a spirit of responsibility” to implement the new measures for the future of French agriculture and food sovereignty.