News food security
France puts 300.000 hectares fallow into production
About 300.000 hectares of agricultural land that is normally used as fallow land can be cultivated by farmers in France this year. That is what the French Ministry of Agriculture known† The CAP payment attached to this will be maintained. France wants to have more product that can be exported within the EU or Africa.
The fallow land falls under the Ecological Focus Area within the CAP. The European Commission has taken a number of measures to food security including the waiver of certain greening obligations. This allows fallow land in the EU to be used as agricultural land.
In the Netherlands, almost every farmer chooses to sow green manures instead of leaving them fallow. This is done in France. The country has 26,7 million hectares of agricultural land. The almost 300.000 hectares therefore represent more than 1% or 2% of the arable land.
No restrictions
Farmers can sow the land declared fallow with protein crops, oilseeds or grains. No adapted cultivation measures need to be used for this, such as cultivation without fertilizer and crop protection. An alternative is that the fallow ground is used for fodder extraction or for grazing.
CAP subsidies are simply paid out and, on the other hand, there are no consequences for the companies. The ministry reports that by growing more grains and other crops, the country will become less dependent on imports from Russia and Ukraine. The EU and Africa indirectly benefit from this.
Niels van der Boom
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