At the close of his meeting with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Bruno Le Maire, the new French Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, indicated that he wants as much regulation in European agriculture as in finance. “We saw what happens when we let market forces operate by themselves in the financial industry” stated Le Maire. The Minister added that “more regulation will be France’s course of action in negotiations on agricultural reforms”, since the issues tied to agricultural activities are too strategic to be left to the sole market power.
Thus confirming the course taken by Michel Barnier, his predecessor, the willingness to maintain strong regulatory tools aims to guarantee “a stable and decent income for farmers” said the Minister, who considers the current price volatility as intolerable: “such price volatility and such income decline are not economically sustainable and farmers cannot survive in such instable environment.”
During the annual reception for the ministry’s staff on July 7, the Minister said that he would immediately undertake reforms. The agenda includes the dairy industry crisis that is emblematic to the structural instability affecting agriculture. If, contrary to his predecessor, the Minister no longer intends to fight the preservation of quotas, he plans to resolve farmers’ cash flow problems through contracts between producers and processors.
Same course of action, innovative solutions… Can we hope that Bruno Le Maire’s mandate finally finds feasible answers to the issues and challenges confronting agriculture? |