This Friday, December 10, 2021, the department unveiled the measures of the 2021-2028 agricultural and rural plan.
“The new 2021-2028 agricultural and rural plan is fully in line with the GREEN Deal policy initiated since 2017. Due to its scale, its resources, and its involvement in environmental and agricultural issues, the Department, already exemplary in supporting agriculture, wishes to pursue an even more ambitious policy. Preserve agricultural land, enrich the supply of quality local production, work on vulnerabilities,” stated Charles Ange Ginésy, President of the Alpes-Maritimes Department.
Protecting the territory’s agricultural land, offering sustainable and quality food, adapting agricultural operations to climate change: these are the objectives set by the department’s 2021-2028 agricultural and rural plan. For this, the department is expected to allocate a budget of 6.4 million euros to support six axes of agriculture.
– The protection of agricultural land
To counter the increasing prices for creating or expanding an operation, the department proposes the creation of a Departmental Land Management Commission, particularly to return fallow agricultural land to cultivation. Additionally, it plans to perpetuate the provision of departmental lands and offer financial support to municipalities.
– Support for farmer installation
To maintain the attractiveness of agricultural employment and retain dynamism, the Department plans to assist young farmers with a grant for installation ranging from €4,000 to €10,000 in addition to State and European aids.
– Supporting farmers in their environmental initiatives.
The modernization of agricultural operations requires significant costs for professionals, which is why the Department is strengthening the AIME system (Assistance for Investment and Modernization of Farms) with a 20% increase in investment aid (instead of the current 10%) if the project involves an organic farming operation.
– The development of short circuits in favor of sustainable quality collective food.
The objective is to place food at the heart of policy by adapting local agricultural production to the needs of collective catering through the establishment of a departmental PAT (Territorial Food Project) to organize access to quality local food, fight against food insecurity, and ensure cohesion among the 12 PATs under development in the Alpes-Maritimes. Additionally, there are plans to create an autonomous structure to develop the “06 à table” platform.
– Supporting the development and outreach of all agricultural sectors
In this context, the department is setting up financial support for organizing rural and peasant festivals; promoting local producers at the International Agriculture Show in Paris and subsidies for local sectors.
– Management of health and environmental risks
To enhance the safety and health of livestock, the Alpes-Maritimes offers financial support for veterinarians practicing in rural areas and students in the field. Similarly, funding will enable combating climate change and protecting water resources through the collection of agrometeorological data and the experimentation of connected probes.
“With this ambitious plan, we want to give agriculture the place it deserves and that we need for local and quality food,” announced Charles Ange Ginésy, President of the Alpes-Maritimes Department.
