Barely named, already visiting! The new Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, has chosen Cher for his first official visit this Saturday, May 21. The one who is also a regional councilor in Centre-Val de Loire visited two farms in Massay and Graçay.
Drought at the heart of discussions
A discreet first trip for Marc Fesneau. Only a few journalists from AFP and Berry Républicain were there. The Minister of Agriculture notably visited the cereal farm and the breeding of dairy cows of Franck Thivrier in Massay. He mainly discussed with the farmer its difficulties related to the drought.
“I have known for a long time that in this area of the department, agricultural production is quite dependent on climatic conditions, these are fragile areas.says Marc Fesneau. I find it quite logical to go to my region, to this territory symbolic of the fears and difficulties of agriculture in adapting to global warming”.
The question of water must be “put on the table”
Global warming that Franck Thivrier is suffering the full force of: “in my meadows, there is not much to mow, there is no corn either”. The farmer hopes to alert the minister to his situation. “If ever the heat lasts another three to four weeks, they will curl and there will only be stalk. We risk not having cereals to feed the cowshe worries. I hope he will give us permission to pump a little more water”.
– Justine Claux
On the question of water, Marc Fesneau believes that the subject must be “put on the table”. “In some places, if we don’t have access to water, we will no longer be able to ensure our food self-sufficiency.assures the Minister of Agriculture. We must succeed in dialogue with citizens, those who have fears, to show them that this is an essential element for the maintenance of agriculture”.
“You have to think about the long term”
Faced with this crisis, Marc Fesneau is betting on the resilience plan to help farmers, including in particular aid of 400 million euros for animal feed and a reduction in the cost of fuel. But the Minister of Agriculture also wants to reflect on long-term solutions.
“Over the long term, you have to think about how to adapt the systems, it’s the only solution because these subjects now come up very regularlyexplains the minister. We have to manage to find support measures with farmers, in terms of investment and research, so that they can cope with the situation..
The only Minister of Centre-Val de Loire has his work cut out for him, with a drought similar to that of 2019, catastrophic from the point of view of water reserves.