The French government is making €1.1 billion available for agriculturalists who wants to switch to organic production. In so doing, the government hopes to prevent France from importing the products on a large scale.
Stéphane Travert, minister of Agriculture
The demand for organic products is rising explosively in France. According to the government this means it is better to support companies in their transition to organic production than maintaining them.
France is already unable to meet the national demand for organic products and 30% is imported. This is done for the lowest possible price and worsens the competitive position of French growers. The government fears that without intervention the import volumes will simply continue to grow.
At the moment 6.5% of French agricultural land is run organically. This subsidy aims to increase this to 15% by 2022
The current French minister of Agriculture is Stéphane Travert. According to the ministry of agriculture the available €1.1 billion equals an increase of 62% compared to the previous Financial Support Plan for organic production.