You may recall French farmers taking their tractors not to their fields but instead to the streets of Paris earlier this year in protest of some of the European Union’s fast-moving, green regulations.
According to the French Embassy Agricultural Counselor, those concerns still remain. He says that the EU’s Farm-To-Fork Strategy for Agriculture aims to reduce pesticide usage by 50% by 2030, and French farmers are not happy.
“For a lot of reasons, but probably the main one was the fact that they considered that the EU ag policy would want to go too fast. They need time to adapt the way they produce, especially in a more sustainable way to fight against climate change. So, they want to adapt the way the produce, but slowly,” Christian Ligeard explains.
He went on to state that growers simply cannot make the cuts required in that time frame and remain profitable. In addition to a more reasonable timeline, farmers are also hoping for further research on pesticide alternatives.
“For example, for sugar beet production, our farmers expect from the research from new technologies,
an answer to fight the pests, to continue the production of sugar beet, and to continue to be in Europe, the first producer of sugar, because if they can’t use the ban pesticides, they want alternative solutions, and I think they’re right,” he adds.
Those concerned farmers have also shared a liking for the United States’ incentive-based, voluntary approach to sustainability action.
