Lhe idea of “floor prices” is being introduced into the debate on a decent income for farmers. If it carries ambiguities that sometimes give rise to reluctance in the agricultural world, we must here point out the obvious: food is essential for human survival, not producing food is not an option. Therefore, the viability of producer remuneration must be organized.
Guaranteeing a decent income is an issue of society, of sovereignty, of survival. Paying work with dignity is as much an affirmation of ethics and a human right as it is an economic and geopolitical fact. Let’s forget for a moment the hackneyed opposition between what is just and what is necessary, the two are compatible.
If there is a consensus in the recent crisis on the fact of guaranteeing a minimum income for French farmers, why does the notion of “floor price” then generate so much controversy? Why, despite a massive intervention of public funds and regulations, cannot we establish what is economically fair for the impoverished and precarious part of French farmers? The answers are necessarily multidimensional and complex.
A permanent state of uncertainty
The unpredictability of prices and outlets is one of the most destabilizing factors for the operator. The volatility of agricultural prices finds its roots in a combination of parameters such as weather conditions, state trade policies, speculation on raw materials, geopolitical hazards, etc. In this environment, the prices of agricultural products can change suddenly. , leaving farmers in a permanent state of uncertainty.
The wheat market, for example, has experienced a surge in three years linked to the invasion of Ukraine, going from 180 euros to more than 400 euros per tonne, currently returning to 200 euros. (source Euronext). Who can organize their production in such conditions? The need for stabilizing mechanisms is obvious and numerous initiatives have been attempted in European agricultural history (guaranteed prices, quotas, etc.) before these “standards” were vilified and abandoned in the name of a doctrinaire approach to the market.
However, for two decades, the gap has widened and many farms have disappeared. Some producers hedge the risk linked to unpredictability by increasing the size of their operation, using futures markets, and specialization. Others are trying alternatives such as fair trade channels, which establish voluntary floor prices.
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