The figure is constantly put back on the table by stakeholders in different sectors. And for good reason. Within ten years, a third of French farmers, or 166,000 people, will have retired. A hemorrhage that comes from afar: the number of operators has already been divided by four in the space of forty years. So, at a time when anger is rising in our countryside, as in many countries in Europe, generational renewal is emerging as one of the major challenges for the profession, in addition to ecological and food transitions. Whether they are children of farmers or not, future farmers need visibility. Emmanuel Macron was supposed to give them some with the bill announced almost a year and a half ago, but it has been repeatedly postponed. Faced with the demands of the demonstrators, the Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, opted for a new postponement in order to insert possible simplification measures, the new mantra of the President of the Republic.
Unattractive remuneration
Concrete answers will therefore still be awaited and the emerging crisis risks constituting a pivotal moment for the future of cereal growers, market gardeners and other breeders. How can we facilitate family transmission and encourage vocations among lay people? In September 2022, Emmanuel Macron called on his compatriots to “consume French” to support the sector and ensure the country’s food sovereignty. Alas!, inflation disrupted his plans. Filling your shopping cart with tricolor products is expensive. Besides, it’s still not the right price, professionals deplore all day long. In opinion surveys, consumers say they are ready to pay farmers better. But, between words and actions, there is a world.
To strengthen the attractiveness of professions and reduce their arduousness, innovation is often cited as one of the keys, provided that training in digital tools improves and investment follows. The path that the government chooses to respond to the protesters in the coming weeks will be decisive in the orientation choices of students tempted by the agricultural world. And the usual cuddle therapy is likely to be insufficient in the face of this sling with multiple roots, which could further fuel itself, particularly after the death of a farmer, this Tuesday, January 23 in Ariège, hit by a car that was speeding into a roadblock.