Key Takeaways:
- New Fund for Agricultural Transformation: A €2 billion guarantee fund is announced to support the agricultural sector’s adaptation to climate change.
- Focus on New Farmer Installation: The fund aims to ease the financial challenges faced by new farmers and support generational renewal in agriculture.
- Integrated into the Future Agricultural Pact: This measure will be part of the upcoming Agricultural Orientation and Future Pact.
- Specific Allocation for Livestock Sector: At least €400 million will be directed towards livestock, aligning with the Livestock Sovereignty Reclaim Plan.
- Easing Credit Access for Farmers: The fund will cover initial losses of agricultural loan portfolios, facilitating easier and more affordable credit access for farmers, particularly the youth.
Background and Implementation:
Stakeholder discussions on the Agricultural Pact and the future agricultural orientation bill highlighted challenges in capital access for new farmer installations and investments in ecological transitions. In response, Marc Fesneau, France’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, announced implementing a €2 billion guarantee fund. This initiative will be part of the Agricultural Orientation and Future Pact and will be formalized in the 2024 finance bill. A decree will further detail the fund’s deployment modalities.
Objective and Impact:
The state guarantee this fund provides will cover the first losses of a portfolio of agricultural loans across all sectors. The sovereign guarantee aims to make credit more accessible and affordable, particularly for young farmers who are crucial for reinforcing food sovereignty through innovative and risk-taking approaches to ecological and climate transitions.
Minister’s Statement:
Marc Fesneau highlighted the guarantee fund as a foundational element of the Agricultural Orientation and Future Pact. He emphasized that facilitating farm installations and innovations and addressing the challenges of generational renewal and ecological and climate transitions are crucial for France’s food sovereignty.
