without them, “these farms will have no choice but to expand or go out of business”, according to the FNSEA

The president of the FNSEA of Puy-de-Dôme defends the mega-basins project in the department: according to her, we must “equip ourselves with means that are today within our reach” to ensure the country’s food sovereignty.

“These farms will have no choice but to expand or go out of business”, alert on franceinfo Sabine Tholoniat, president of FNSEA 63, as demonstrators gather on Saturday May 11 for a festive hike in Puy-de-Dôme, in the Limagne plain. They are protesting against the construction of two large water reservoirs of 32 hectares, to allow 36 farms to draw water from the Allier river in winter and use it in summer.

The president of FNSEA 63 supports the project, she explains that in the department, “we are working on small models of family farms, which have the need to produce crops that generate a margin”, of which corn is a part, she admits. Opponents are in fact calling for a “adaptation” of crops to climate change, and an abandonment of corn cultivation, considered to consume too much water in the summer. But Sabine Tholoniat affirms that “corn does not require more water than wheat”. The difference is that corn is a summer crop and wheat is a winter crop, she said.

“This will be used to feed the French”

She believes that it is necessary “put the real subject back at the heart of the debates, which is that of food sovereignty and feeding the French”and that for this it is necessary “equip ourselves with means that are within our reach today, that is to say, store water in winter to irrigate, in particular this corn which will be used to feed people”. The president of FNSEA 63 made a point of recalling the orders of magnitude provided for in the project plan, which “consist of pumping approximately 0.12% of the volume of water from the Allier, which represents approximately the consumption of 46 000 inhabitants per year.

“Water is still intended to return to its environment, and to make food. It is therefore, in our opinion, a virtuous principle which allows us to overcome the challenges of climate change”she summarizes.