Elections to the Chamber of Agriculture: Peasant Confederation candidates dream of “living countrysides”

Les candidats de la liste de la Confédération paysanne de l’Hérault.

Les agriculteurs seront amenés à voter entre le 15 et le 30 janvier pour élire leurs représentants à la Chambre d’agriculture. La Confédération paysanne de l'Hérault a présenté sa liste.

The number one question “is the peasant income!” asserts Thierry Arcier, winegrower in Saint-Pargoire and number twelve on a list of 20 (including two substitutes) at the Hérault Chamber of Agriculture. The Confédération Paysanne presented its list this Monday in La Boissière, at the home of Dominique Soulié, a figure of the union. “If we want our countryside to be alive, we must be able to live with dignity, with production methods that respect the environment. Because to be alive, we must start by not poisoning ourselves!”, adds Morgane Bara, an organic goat herder in Saint-Etienne-de-Gourgas, and number two on the list, led by Paul Reder, a winemaker in Cournonterral and president of Terres Vivantes.

Industrial agriculture: “it wastes a lot”

Free trade agreements, such as Mercosur, are described as “deadly”: “these supranational agreements are a leveling down. We don't want Brazilian farmers to live less well and destroy their environment with chemical products,” Morgane Bara assures. To guarantee remunerative prices, the Conf wants regulation by the public authorities and believes that sustainable agriculture can indeed feed the planet. “Industrial agriculture offers low-cost foodstuffs but it wastes a lot”, adds Paul Reder.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

Irrigation: using public money “differently”

The distribution of aid is a source of concern for the candidates of the Conf' who are campaigning for a CAP (common agricultural policy) capped per asset, and not per hectare. “The current system is a Monopoly ® without limits. However, there are many people left behind by the CAP, such as small market gardeners who, however, feed the world with a small area”, continues Morgane Bara. The public subsidies earmarked for the irrigation of vineyards are angering the candidates: “These huge envelopes could be used to enrich the soil, or retain the water already there… The Salagou overpumping project costs €10,000 per hectare, of which €2,000 is the responsibility of the farmer. Who will be able to afford this tap? ? The wealthiest! The same goes for the grubbing-up premiums, which are a skimming policy, allowing neither debt reduction nor retraining. We are killing the small work tool to favor those who have the means. At the same time, the President of the Chamber Jérôme Despey negotiated with his union a 1% increase in French wine production, it will be for the biggest!”

Reforming the system electoral

The FNSEA's competitors are in the sights of the Confédération paysanne. “We've been on a model that prioritizes expansion for 50 years. But today, we're coming up against the age pyramid. Farms are untransferable and young people don't have the financial strength to meet these prices.”

To overthrow the current model supported by the majority union, the Conf' dreams of a mobilization at the ballot box (65% abstention in 2019) and an electoral reform, including solidarity contributors (farmers who do not have enough land to be considered as operators, but still contribute). “Most people who start are farmers in the first few years, and yet they are farmers, as are the collaborating spouses. We are campaigning for a single agricultural status.”

 

Also read: “We have nothing to be ashamed of for what we have done” : the FDSEA and the Young Farmers of Hérault are campaigning for the elections of the Chamber of Agriculture

The candidates

Are candidates in the college of farm managers: 

– Paul Rder, 

– Morgane Bara

– Olivier Pilelet

-Amandine Mallants

-Philippe Bordes

-Kalima Pusceddu

– Nicolas Vitou

-Emilie Dequiedt (outgoing elected official)

-Jean-Marie Velasco

-Estelle Calamand

– Lionel Rouzier

-Thierry Arcier

-Marion Muret

-Thomas Belaman

– Julien Bourrette

-Marion Chauffard

– Benoit Reverte

-Vivien Sabot

-Jean-Luc Saumade

-Basile Dequiedt