Last Monday, the French Minister of Agriculture, Didier Guillaume, signed a Solution Contract promoted by the National Federation of Agricultural Holdings of France, FNSEA, in order to limit the use of phytosanitary products in agricultural production, including fruits and vegetables. With the support of 42 agricultural sector organizations, the agro-food industry and manufacturers of phytosanitary products, the French Ministry has expressed its commitment to "mobilizing the available budgets to help agricultural producers in their agro-ecological transition."
The "Preamble of the Solution Contract", to which FEPEX has had access, explains that French agricultural producers have significant difficulties "to change their agricultural practices in the field of crop protection, as they have no accessible alternatives to phytosanitary products that are not only financially viable, but also sufficiently effective. Changing one's cultivation practices goes beyond simply replacing a product; it is necessary to support the producers in their search for solutions that are compatible with the principles of integrated production, with a strategic reflection on production systems."
The six-page document states that the State and the signatory organizations commit themselves to the following objectives: to respond to the demands of consumers and citizens regarding healthy, safe and sustainable food; to protect the productive capacity of French agriculture and the country's positioning in the markets, from the local to the international; to promote a resilient and competitive agriculture, and lastly, to tackle the distortions of competition that harm French producers.
The Preamble to the Contract includes commitments from both the sector and the State in five areas: in the writing of public policies, in the identification and anticipation of alternatives to phytopharmaceutical products; in helping agricultural producers reduce the use of phytopharmaceutical products; in communication to the general public and in matters of governance.
As for the State's commitments when it comes to reducing the use of phytopharmaceutical products, it is specified that the State must "mobilize the available budgets to assist agricultural producers in their agro-ecological transition, and especially to implement specific solutions, agreed with the sectors. It cites three possible sources of funding already in place in France: the Competitiveness and Adaptation to Agricultural Holdings Plan (PCAE), the Ecophyto plan and the agro-environmental and climate measures (MAEC) ).
The document has been promoted by the FNSEA and 42 organizations from sectors such as wheat, barley, corn, rapeseed, beet, potato and fruits and vegetables, as well as seed companies, manufacturers of agricultural equipment, the agro-food industry and phytosanitary product manufacturers, who have formed a Steering Committee.
It has been signed by the Minister of Agriculture, the Chairman of the "Steering Committee of the Solution Contract", in which all the organizations are represented, and the President-General Director of the National Institute of Agricultural Research of France (INRA). The signing took place on Monday in the framework of the International Agriculture Show, which has been held from February 23 to March 3 in Paris. This event was attended not only by the Minister of Agriculture, but also by the Prime Minister, Édourad Philippe, and the head of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron. This is a testament to the strong institutional and governmental support given to the French agricultural sector.
