ORAMA has expressed indignation at the heavy fines imposed yesterday at the request of the European Commission on the FNSEA, “Jeunes Agriculteurs”, FNB and FNPL.

Yesterday’s round table meeting on biofuel held by the Ministers of Agriculture and Industry was an opportunity to report on bioethanol achievements in France over the past year.  Satisfaction can be expressed on many points, e.g. approvals for new processing plants, advances with direct blending in fuels and the emergence of E85 Super Ethanol business and related activities.
 

 
The AGPB, AGPM and FFCAT have been actively supporting biofuel, in particular bioethanol.  It is a strategic line for development for the grain sector and coincides with energy and environmental concerns in the European Union.
 

A l’appel de plusieurs organisations agricoles (FNSEA, Jeunes Agriculteurs et ORAMA*, du collectif « préservons la recherche » et de représentants des filières agroalimentaires), une grande manifestation de portée nationale a eu  lieu à Pau le 20 septembre 2006.

ORAMA has noted the positive decision made yesterday by the European Commission and the French Government in response to its request for direct payments to be made early, as of October 16.

Mr. Mandelson chose to tell a leading Brazilian daily newspaper (on September 10) that any breakdown of the Doha round would be verging on a criminal and deeply irresponsible attitude.

With the 2006 harvest affected by a series of extremely adverse weather events, many grain growers and oil and protein seed farmers in different regions around France will see their sales income unchanged or declining, even though prices have gone up, as their yields fall well below average.

Yet another plot of land planted with GM maize has been vandalised, and with total impunity, in the Gers region.  It is all very well to hear the Minister of Agriculture speaking out against this, and to have instructions given to regional Préfets, but action must be taken to deal with these law-breakers.

ORAMA and the association of French irrigators, “Irrigants de France”, have been arguing facts and figures so that the truth can be told.  They recalled that a proper water management and storage policy was stated to be a priority and commitment by the French Minister of Agriculture, Dominique Bussereau.

After Pascal’s five-hectare plot planted with GM maize was destroyed, he and AGPM President, Christophe Terrain, held a press conference on Tuesday, August 1.
300 farmers and neighbours rallied spontaneously, expressing their solidarity with Pascal.

After the Court ruling that Greenpeace had violated property and privacy, handed down on July 26, 2006, the association has re-offended.

The French General Association of Maize Growers (AGPM - Association Générale des Producteurs de Maïs) is pleased with the judge’s ruling handed down on July 26 ordering Greenpeace to withdraw information from its Website concerning the property and personal references of two farmers.

An assessment of EU grain policy instruments conducted at the request of the European Commission has just been published.  One key point is the conclusion on the overall efficiency of the Common Market Organisation (CMO) system for regulating grain markets.  Yet despite this, there is a call for serious reconsideration of the CMO, mainly because of the surge in levels of grain in public stocks in a number of New Member States.
 
AGPB, AGPM and FFCAT have criticised these conclusions as incoherent.

The FNSEA, France’s national federation of agricultural workers’ unions, has just held its Congress where discussions and the closing address by FNSEA President Jean-Michel Lemétayer showed the full commitment of the general trade union movement to defend productive work.  This was particularly the case on the issue of irrigation where responsible management of the different sectors and producers using water, together with their proposals, were applauded by the full range of participants at the Congress.

When the French Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dominique Bussereau, came to Montardon (Atlantic Pyrenees region) and visited the offices of AGPM/ MAIZEUROP, he announced that for the new 2008 tax exemption period there would be approval for 60 000 tonnes of ethanol for the AB BIOENERGY FRANCE (ABF) plant in Lacq.

The Bureau of the Union set up on March 1 by the three associations, AGPB (cereals), AGPM (maize) and FOP (oil and protein crops), has reviewed topical issues that concern arable crops.

Christophe Terrain, President of AGPM, the French association of maize growers, took part in the panel discussion organised by the French consumer association “UFC-Que Choisir” in Pau, where he expressed the views of farmers and maize growers on the issue of managing water resources.

Grain and sugar beet producers have noted the result of the call for tenders for the allocation of the 522 000 tonnes of bioethanol as announced by the French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin (80 000 tonnes in 2006, 112 000 tonnes in 2007 and 330 000 tonnes in 2008).

AGPB President Philippe Pinta, AGPM President Christophe Terrain and FOP President Xavier Beulin spoke with the President of the French Republic when he visited the “Odyssée Végétale” exhibition stand at the Paris International Agriculture Show on Saturday, February 25.