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France has fewer and fewer farms. According to a report, more than one in four farmers will retire within 10 years, and will not necessarily be replaced. As a result, millions of hectares of land could change hands, in particular because of inheritance rights.
In Morey-Saint-Denis (Golden Coast)grand cru vines have belonged to a Burgundian family for 40 years. Hubert Lignierwinegrower, first passed them on to his son. He does not know if his grandson will be able take over. “When we hear about the current prices, it will be difficult for young people to expand, and inheritances are more and more complicated”he explains. Within 10 years, one out of four farmers will be retired, which represents 20% of agricultural land to be sold. However, not all of them will be recovered by farmers.
From year to year, these plots are nibbled away by cities for the construction of roads, housing or even public gardens. With developers upping the ante, farmland is worth gold today: their price has doubled in 20 years. “When you are in areas with high population density, (…) the price of this land is considerably higher than agricultural land. So we can have pressure locally, so that a land that was agricultural becomes building, to be able to earn money from the sale”, explains Colin Sovranspokesperson for the “Terre de liens” association. Many lands are also bought up by large industrialized farms, which do not create jobs.