French Embassy Explains Farmer Protests

MID-WEST FARM REPORT - MADISON

If you think back to international headlines this spring, you might remember seeing French farmers riding their tractors, not in the field, but in the streets of Paris. They were protesting the European Union's environmental regulations. France is the No. 1 agricultural producer in the EU. French Embassy Agricultural Counselor Christian Ligeard says the Farm to Fork strategy for agriculture under the European Union’s Green Deal aims to reduce pesticide usage by 50 percent by 2030. He explains that growers cannot make those cuts in that timeframe and still be profitable. Ligeard says farmers in France embrace sustainability initiatives, but they are asking the EU to implement a more reasonable timeline to cut back inputs. They also want to see research on alternative pesticide solutions for them to use. They do like the incentive-based, voluntary approach of sustainability here in the U.S.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.