Breton farmers express their distress and frustration at the lack of clarity regarding compensation rules and administrative slowness. “We have no answers, it’s terrible to know nothing” says an operator from Finistère.
This had to be fixed “as quickly as possible” President Macron promised during his visit to Finistère the day after Storm Ciaran. “No hole in the racket for compensation” assured the minister of the farmer when noting the significant damage. More than a month after the promises, for Breton farmers, the account is not there.
“It’s not a hole in the racket, it’s that the racket doesn’t have a head!”
Jean-Hervé Caugant. Organic farmer and president of the FInistère Chamber of Agriculture
“It’s not a hole in the racket, it’s that the racket doesn’t have a head!” tries to smile Jean-Hervé Caugant. The organic farmer installed at the entrance to Crozon is one of 2,154 farmers in Brittany waiting for a response on the aid promised by the President and the Minister of Agriculture. The announcement was made on November 15, a fund of 80 million euros for affected farmers in Brittany, Normandy and Hauts-de-France is promised.
Read : Storm Ciaran. From Emmanuel Macron’s announcements to backpedaling on compensation: the underside of a boondoggle
“We are almost two months after the storm and I still don’t know anything about this help, it’s terrible not to know” alarms the farmer who runs the farm with his son. This December 11, Jean-Hervé is waiting for an expert for the damage caused by violent winds to his hangar. “It imploded. The entire framework needs to be changed”. The costs are estimated between 170,000 and 200,000 euros. The expert will study the dilapidation of the building to find out how much the insurance will cover. “We will know if we have to put 150,000 euros out of our pocket, 100,000, or less. And we don’t just have that as damage.”
Almost two months after the storm and the damage, I still don’t know anything. It’s terrible not to know”
Jean-Hervé Caugant knows that the morale of Finistère farmers is very seriously affected. The operator is the president of the chamber of agriculture of his department. “We called the farmers of Finistère. Nearly 70% of farmers have damage and some are very significant. If the aid does not come, some will throw in the towel”.
For breeders, seeing their animals unprotected in the violent rains of December is more than painful “It’s not possible to have it repaired without help, the sums are too significant” warn Jean-Hervé Caugant. “In the meantime, animals can get sick.” Operators need something concrete. “We want to know where to submit a file. Whose ? When ? What will the rules be? Do we have to present quotes and invoices? What are the amounts? What about uninsured cold greenhouses?”
The representative of Finistère farmers is asking these questions. The farmers of his department too. And those of Côtes d’Armor, the second most affected department, also.
It’s artistic blur.
Didier Lucas, operator and president of Côtes d’Armor farmers
“It’s artistic blur” said Didier Lucas, farmer near Saint-Brieuc. “Market growers must re-cultivate now to harvest next spring, they may lose a harvest” specifies the one who is president of the Côtes d’Armor agricultural chamber.
“We have no idea of the compensation amounts… President Macron promised that it would be quick… This is not entirely the case, we are still waiting for the aid” sighs the operator.
Read : Storm Ciaran. Why is the state of natural disaster not recognized in Brittany
Without answers from the government, farmers are worried about compensation rules. A European rule prohibits agricultural companies from benefiting from more than 7,000 euros in aid per year. “If this rule is applied, many will lose much more” analyzes Didier Lucas.
The farmer learned that the aid of 80 million for the three regions of Brittany, Normandy and Haut-de-France had been validated by Europe. “But since then, it has stopped.”
For Breton farmers, the incomprehension is great. Promises of financial aid but no concrete results. “This is paradoxical” the Costarmorican is alarmed, “on the one hand we demand food sovereignty and on the other we do not help farmers to maintain their farms”.