Published
Video length: 1 min
Agricultural fallows: why Europe imposes them
Fallows are imposed by the European Union, which wants to extend them to allow the soil to regenerate. A very widely contested measure. – (France 2)
Fallows are imposed by the European Union, which wants to extend them to allow the soil to regenerate. A very widely contested measure.
It is an essential rest for biodiversity: fallow, a period during which land is not allowed to be cultivated and regenerates. But, for farmers, it is above all a loss of income of several thousand euros per year. “This plot, which starts from there, which runs alongside the wheat, and which lands in the woods over there, represents 8 hectares. On 8 hectares, today, when I plant wheat, I produce 100,000 baguettes”confides a farmer.
10% fallow land by 2030?
European standards today require that 4% of land be set aside each year. By 2030, this threshold could increase to 10%. A measure which makes certain farmers’ unions jump, but which would only have a limited impact, according to the Confédération paysanne. The fallow is therefore at heart of a debate between ecology and economics. For his part, the Minister of Agriculture is in favor of a relaxation of standards on this subject.
