French farmers are heroes: they work long hours to produce ever more abundant, ever healthier and ever higher quality food. Today, he has to respond to major environmental challenges and finds himself at the heart of a paradox: producing better and cheaper.
A long French tradition
Whether you’re a representative of intensive agriculture, an ardent advocate of TCS (soil conservation techniques) or a specialist in organic farming, today’s farmer is the heir to a long French tradition. After the war, the country had to be rebuilt and supported by a tremendous surge in growth.
Farmers have managed to organise themselves to do this. The rise of chemistry, veterinary medicine and machinery enabled producers to produce the quantities needed to feed a growing population. At the same time, the agri-food industry developed and Europe entered a consumer society. This model of intensive agriculture still meets the needs of the population, but now has to face up to new challenges, aimed at preserving the planet.
A new concept for the future
At the same time, resources are becoming increasingly scarce and the climate is changing rapidly. Since the advent of Ecologically Intensive Agriculture in 2008, everyone involved has been working to develop a coherent and reasonable agricultural model for future generations. To achieve this, we need to anticipate needs and think about agriculture on a global scale, increasing production volumes while encouraging people to think about what they eat to reduce the waste of resources. And all this has to take place within a tightly competitive framework.
Supporting company policies
To organise themselves in the face of these major changes, farmers formed cooperatives at the beginning of the 20th century.
This cooperative model has proved its worth, and is more relevant than ever. It gives them a say in the choices that affect the future of their profession. The farmers of yesteryear have become true farm managers, implementing specific optimisation and development strategies and having to be competitive to ensure the long-term future of their businesses.
The cooperatives have always been there to support them in their technical and strategic choices.
The many partners that gravitate around farmers (accounting centres, feed suppliers, technical advice
suppliers, technical advice, machinery, veterinarians, etc.) are constantly
are constantly innovating to help them adapt to the market.
Companies and cooperatives need to communicate about their products and/or services because they too are in a competitive market. We need to know the history of the agricultural sector, the context and the sectors in order to support them and help them defend their positions. The aim is to highlight their choices and turn them into commercial and development assets.
Companies and cooperatives need to communicate about their products and/or services because they too are in a competitive market. We need to know the history of the agricultural sector, the context and the sectors in order to support them and help them defend their positions. The aim is to highlight their choices and turn them into commercial and development assets.