Given this worsening of the drought, Julien Denormandie, French Minister of Agriculture and Food, authorizes the possibility for forage crops to be counted as an area of ​​ecological interest (SIE, for its acronym in French), including when these crops are experiencing lifting problems. This measure complements the measures already activated during the summer to support farmers in this difficult period. The Minister remains attentive to the evolution of the situations in all the territories.

The absence of precipitation and the drought of the soils observed over a large part of France during the first half of September compromise the emergence of forage crops, with heterogeneous emergence or even no emergence. These forage crops can be valued as an area of ​​ecological interest (SIE) as part of the green payment provided they are present for 8 weeks from a date defined at the departmental level. As of August 7, the Minister of Agriculture and Food authorized the postponement of the deadline for planting forage crops.

This new measure makes it possible to take into account the difficulties of emergence of forage crops. For the fastest possible implementation and the most adapted according to the evolutions of the drought, fabelle will be decided by the prefects of the departments within the framework of a zoning which they will determine with regard to the local climatic conditions.

In this context, the operators concerned will have to report to their DDT (M) the problem of emergence of sown stray crops and request to benefit from an exemption in case of force majeure. This exemption makes it possible to maintain the “SIE” character of the crop, including in the event of an on-the-spot check where the presence of a seedling can however be verified.

Julien Denormandie: “I remain alongside the farmers to support them in this context of unprecedented drought. This new exemption for forage crops demonstrates the adaptation of our response as the situation evolves. I pay particular attention to it. Beyond these emergency measures, the drought, which is becoming habitual, attacks our food sovereignty, which is my priority. To regain it, it is not only these short-term measures that we must take, but also longer-term measures. The recovery plan thus gives us the means to answer the question of how our agriculture can adapt to climate change. "