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SAFER, an organization created to fight against land grabbing
SAFER, an organization created to fight against land grabbing – (SPECIAL ENVOYE / FRANCE 2)
How can we prevent agricultural land from being taken over to the detriment of young farmers looking to set up? Example in Normandy in this extract from “Special Envoy”, where the intervention of SAFER, an organization created by the State in the 1960s, helps some of them to access property.
Faced with increasingly high land costs, young farmers often find it very difficult to buy land to set up business. Financially, they are no match for large operators, or even investor companies which sometimes have nothing to do with their activity. To fight against the grabbing of agricultural land, there is a tool, created by the State at the end of the 1960s to help farmers access property: the SAFER (Land Development and Rural Establishment Companies) , which cover the entire French territory.
Example in Normandy, where a farm and its 300 hectares of agricultural land were coveted by a large nursery grower. Preferring to sell to a single person, the owners were ready to conclude the sale with this entrepreneur… who already owned 400 hectares in another region.
An unstoppable weapon: the right of pre-emption
Faced with such situations, SAFERs have a weapon: the right of pre-emption. The organization can cancel a sale and buy a farm itself – if necessary very expensive, as in this specific case: 11 million euros, or a price above 30,000 euros per hectare. Then, these prime quality lands, ideal for growing flax, potatoes or market gardening, were divided into several lots to make them more financially accessible to young farmers.
They won’t have any trouble finding takers. On the 120 files received at SAFER, 80 confirmed their application, of which 50 are candidates for installation. This influx of requests is not surprising Vincent Letellier and Gautier Demichel, who work for the organization : “In Seine-Maritime, we are used, since we have land in this sector, up to the Pointe de Caux, near Le Havre, to have between 40 and 60 candidates, with a majority of young people at installation.”
The positive aspect, “we still have a lot of young people who are motivated to be farmers”, notes Vincent Letellier. The negative aspect being of course “the lack of land to serve these young people who wish to settle down and make a living from their profession”…
Excerpt from “The more expensive the earth will be”, a report to see in “Special Envoy” on February 1, 2024.
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