The French Minister of Agriculture and Food yesterday brought together representatives of agricultural production, transformation and distribution in order to relaunch the dynamics for a better distribution of value along the food chain, dynamics that had been established during the General Assembly on Food, in particular within Workshop 5, chaired by Serge Papin. Indeed, if the EGalim law has created a new state of mind and has allowed raising the price paid to producers in certain sectors such as milk, this situation should be amplified and the results consolidated. The method presented by the Minister is based on a triptych:

• trust in the actors that offer solidarity prices compared to upstream agriculture. The Minister reiterated the vital nature of fair prices for the future of agriculture, at all levels, to both distributors and manufacturers;
• the requirement to obtain results;
• transparency in the actions and margins of each one.

For a better distribution of value along the food chain, the Minister, together with his colleague Agnès Pannier-Runacher, entrusts a mission of general interest entrusted to Serge Papin to strengthen the implementation of the EGalim law

Based on the conclusions of workshop 5 of the Etats Généraux de l'Alimentation, which he successfully chaired, Serge Papin will work as a mediator and conciliator to:

• create a dialogue with all stakeholders to build consensus around the need to better reward the agricultural value chain;
• take stock of the law and identify at the level of commercial negotiations between the different links, what works and what doesn't;
• identify good practices, national or local, and reflect on their dissemination conditions;
• establish pathways for operational improvement.

It will pay particular attention to the nature of the established contracts, the use of price indicators and production costs now defined by almost all inter-professional organizations and the mobilization of mediation.

In addition, it recalls the objectives of the agricultural recovery plan that reinforces this better distribution of the creation of value promoted by the EGalim law.

The formation of producer organizations in collective bargaining is a fundamental element to strengthen their weight in trade negotiations. Several other measures support production chains in their agroecological transition, another effective lever to create value for the benefit of producers, while improving the match between supply and demand with consumers. This is the case, for example, of the tax credit for farms with the label "High environmental value", of the "conversion premium" of agricultural equipment that financially support farmers to acquire agricultural equipment that requires fewer resources and inputs, the "good carbon footprint" that allows farmers to obtain improvement proposals, or the "hedge seeders" program to strengthen biodiversity around crops. Finally, several measures of the recovery plan aimed at modernizing farms and structuring sectors also contribute to this creation of value along the production chains.

Julien Denormandie: "The mission that I entrusted to Serge Papin, together with my colleague Agnès Pannier-Runacher, is fundamental because it is about consolidating the spirit of the General Food Conference that had led to a collective consensus for a better distribution of value for the benefit of upstream agriculture. This is one of the main priorities for me if we want to achieve the objective of food sovereignty that we have set for ourselves. This meeting with all the actors allowed us to remember this common objective of a better distribution of value to the serving our farmers and working on the means that we are collectively implementing to 'achieve. The recovery plan is contributing greatly to this.'