Despite government announcements, the agricultural crisis is not completely over. The Agricultural Show, which begins on February 24, could be an opportunity for farmers to highlight the difficulties they encounter on a daily basis. Guest of Europe 1 Morning weekend, Julien Denormandie returned to the subject. The former Minister of Agriculture has just published the work Nourish without devastating (ed. Flammarion), co-written with Erik Orsenna.
To write their book, Julien Denormandie and Erik Orsenna went to meet farmers in France and in different countries. After what he discovered during these trips, the former Minister of Agriculture considers that “one of the priorities is to restore justice, particularly with regard to food imports. We went to Brazil, to Ukraine, where we have farmers and agriculture that have nothing to do with what we know here. In Brazil, when pesticides are used, it is sometimes by plane. describes this incredible scene where a plane drops pesticides not on a field, but on a school,” he explains.
“It would be madness to consider that the purchasing power of the French could be financed by the income of farmers”
According to him, “one of the most central subjects is to restore fairness to these commercial exchanges, which we call mirror clauses. I fought a lot as minister on this subject and I believe that We have to go very far on this.”
As for the question of the cost of food, which prevents certain consumers from purchasing products from French agriculture, Julien Denormandie considers that “it would be madness to consider that the purchasing power of the French could be financed by the income of farmers. We absolutely must dissociate the two subjects,” he insists.
But, despite the difficulties in the agricultural world, the former Minister of Agriculture remains positive. “It is possible to reconcile both production and protection. We have no choice. We absolutely must succeed in feeding without devastating, devastating the environment, devastating our farmers, devastating our societies, devastating our solidarity”, he concludes at the microphone of Europe 1.