Christiane Lambert, president of the FNSEA (National Federation of Farmers’ Unions), was the guest of 8:30 a.m. franceinfo, Saturday March 4, 2023. Food prices, anti-inflation basket, drought… She answered questions by Jules de Kiss and Benjamin Sportouch.
Food prices: towards a 10% increase, “we will have a return”
Food prices will increase by 10% on average after annual negotiations between distributors and the food industry. The distributors “gave 10% where manufacturers asked for 15%. Why? Among farmers, the increase in charges is 18%, it’s 35% over two years, we’ve never experienced this and we have to pass it on “explains Christiane Lambert. “We are going to have a return, but for the manufacturers, it is more difficult, they cannot manage to pass the increases in boxes, packaging, wages, logistics”she says.
Christiane Lambert recalls that the food law obliges distributors to pay farmers better. “There is an obligation in the law to keep the price paid to farmers, the buyer cannot go back, it’s good for us”explains the boss of the FNSEA.
Rising prices: “There will be no anti-inflation basket”
The anti-inflation basket proposed by the government “will not happen”says Christiane Lambert. “We met Bruno Le Maire the day before yesterday, and he confirmed it to us, there will be no anti-inflation basket”. The FNSEA was against it, because “he will cut prices and address everyone”while the first agricultural union pleads for more targeted actions.
Remuneration of farmers: “It’s a shock to pay more for food, but it’s necessary”
Better remunerating farmers implies an increase in prices for consumers, as Michel-Edouard Leclerc reminded us on Friday on franceinfo. “I do not dispute”replies Christiane Lambert, “for ten years, he sold cheaper and cheaper, and for ten years, we lost 100,000 farms”. France is a country “where concentrated distribution crushed prices” and the French are “accustomed to eating on the cheap”.
“It’s a shock to pay more today, but it’s necessary if we want to keep our farmers and attract young people”she recalls, while “40% of farmers will retire in ten years”. According to her, it is “keep French agriculture” and not to have the same fate as “the textile industry in France”.
Drought: “We must manage water better” because “producing less is producing inflation”
On the drought, Christiane Lambert says that the month of March is “tipping point”. “The animals are suffering, we are looking for alternatives to fodder”, she says while France is experiencing a historic winter drought. She once again said she was in favor of retaining water: “These are not mega-basins, but winter water reserves, drawing from the groundwater with authorization from the prefecture”. “The years when we can’t fill them, we won’t fill them”, but it allows “maintain agriculture in these territories”, according to her. Must also “better use of wastewater”.
This issue is crucial, because the lack of water could lead to price increases. “If we don’t store water, we will produce less and it will be more expensive”explains Christiane Lambert, citing the example of green beans in Brittany, “half did not rise”. “Producing less is producing inflation”she summarizes.
New law on disputes between neighbors and farmers: “It is not a gadget law”
Traveling to the Agricultural Show, the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti announced a text of law to settle disputes between neighbors and farmers. “It’s not a gimmicky law”, assures Christiane Lambert. She quotes “incredible trials”For example “a complaint for nocturnal mooing of a cow”. “Are we going to have to teach the cows not to moo?”she asks herself.
According to her, “the question is tolerance”. “The countryside is the place of work for farmers, many people arrive in the countryside and see it as an Eden”says Christiane Lambert. “When I go to Paris, I don’t complain about pollution”she concludes.
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Find the entire “8:30 am franceinfo” of Saturday March 4, 2023: