By Le Figaro with AFP
Published
This boost will be added to the aid of three million euros, already announced last May. LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP
After ten years of double-digit growth, the French organic market has been hit by inflation and in 2022 retail sales have declined.
To help organic farmers overcome the recent drop in demand for their products, the government will grant several million additional euros to promote their sector, the Minister of Agriculture announced on Thursday Marc Fesneau. For communication as such, the government will release an envelope of 5 million euros per year for three years, from 2024, in addition to aid of three million euros already announced in May.
The Avenir Bio Fund, managed by Agence Bio and intended to help producers invest and promote their production, will be supplemented by an additional five million euros per year, or 18 million euros in total. The objective is “to support (the) structuring effort that organic sectors need to consolidate their market», Specified the ministry in a message.
This strengthening of support for the sector was announced by Marc Fesneau during a visit to the Tech & Bio exhibition organized by the Chambers of Agriculture, which brings together thousands of growers, breeders, suppliers and organic researchers. On Wednesday, the director of the Organic Agency, Laure Verdeau, estimated that her agency had an insufficient communications budget to support the French in the food transition.
However, after ten years of double-digit growth, the French organic market was hit by inflation and in 2022 retail sales fell by almost 5%. The National Federation of Organic Agriculture (Fnab) welcomed in a press release this “long-term commitment“.