Megabasins, hedges, farms… Why the agricultural orientation bill is considered too unambitious on an ecological level

While the deputies began to debate, elected ecologists and environmental defenders denounced a text which slows down the agroecological transition.

More production, less ecology ? MPs began examining the draft orientation law for agriculture in the National Assembly on Tuesday, May 14. Supposed to appease the anger of the agricultural sector which erupted during the winter, the text contains measures to promote in particular the training and transfer of farms. But environmental defenders say it lacks ecological ambition. “THE government set as its goal the resilience of our agriculture in the face of climate change. But here, we have an empty and dangerous text regarding violations of environmental law.”denounces to franceinfo the environmentalist deputy Marie Pochon, whose group defended a preliminary rejection motion. Franceinfo details the most contested measures.

A bill accused of facilitating the construction of megabasins

Opponents of the text fear that there will be a proliferation of mega-basin projects, these reservoirs of water drawn from groundwater then used for irrigating agricultural land. The flagship article of the bill provides in fact to devote “agriculture and fishing” as being “of major general interest”. For its detractors, this notion is a call to the administrative judge to facilitate certain projects when they are weighed against an ecological issue. The national secretary of Ecologists-EELV, Marine Tondelier, sees it as a means of “promote the installation of megabasins” and of “factory farms”.

But for the Minister of Agriculture, this provision would be a way of keeping a “balance” between environment and agriculture, otherwise, “in the end, we will sacrifice our agriculture”. “We had given the feeling, sometimes at the national level, sometimes at the European level, that it was agriculture that was suffering”affirmed Marc Fesneau at the microphone of franceinfo at the beginning of May.

Another measure pointed out: the“acceleration of litigation” in the event of an appeal against water storage projects or the construction of livestock buildings. This reduction in delays would be “to the detriment of associations and local residents who would have less time to gather, organize and present arguments concerning environmental risks”, says Greenpeace in a press release. In its opinion, the Council of State also warned the legislator on the “risks of constitutionality”when the Defender of Rights considers, in hers (in PDF)that there would be a “unjustified infringement of the right of appeal”.

Marc Fesneau defended himself from wanting to promote “large farms” through the bill. “They’re not big [exploitations] obviously, but we need to produce, breeding buildings”taking poultry production as an example. “We are not going to feed people with a henhouse of 50 hens”he illustrated.

The fear of seeing hedge removal made easier

During the demonstrations which broke out during the winter, farmers denounced the excessively cumbersome administrative procedures, citing the regulations on hedges as an example. The bill plans to simplify the legislation around these plant rows. The removal of hedges must be the subject of a request to the authorities, but the absence of a response within a time limit set by decree will constitute authorization.

“There may be thousands of requests at once that the prefectures will not have time to process within the time limit, and farmers will therefore be able to cut the hedge”, worries specialist Jacques Caplat, from the Agir pour l’environnement association. However, these green walls provide valuable services, including the Biodiversity Office lists the virtues: “conservation of biodiversity, protection of farm animals, carbon storage, flood regulation…”

Asked by The New Republic on May 10, Marc Fesneau rather sees this measure as a “message of confidence addressed to the agricultural world, whose activity will be freed from standards and constraints that have become superfluous (…) without sacrificing our requirements for the protection of human health, protection of the environment and quality productions”. The Ministry of Agriculture also announced at the beginning of March an additional annual budget of 110 million euros from 2024, in order to achieve the objective of “50,000 kilometers” hedges planted “by 2030”.

Means for the agroecological transition deemed insufficient

The bill certainly mentions “the agroecological and climatic transition of agriculture and food”. But for environmental defenders, the text should include more means to accelerate the transition to agroecology, a form of agriculture which relies on the natural resources available. “It’s organic farming, grass-fed farming, the diversified crop system, illustrates Jacques Caplat. To push towards this, it would have been necessary to provide land tools. How are huge farms, whose farmers are going to retire, going to change their crops?”

“New entrants must be pushed towards agroecological farms.”

Marie Pochon, environmentalist deputy

at franceinfo

If the NGO Climate Action Network welcomes the ambition displayed on this subject from the introduction of the text, it also considers that it “does not provide the installation-transmission policy with a clear orientation objective in favor of the agroecological transition” And “should make it possible to better direct funding for installation and investment, with priority towards the most sustainable systems”.