AGRESTE

In Guadeloupe sugar cane resists

2007-10-09T09:07:12Z

Despite diminished importance, the sugar cane sector remains significant in agriculture and in the agri-food industry in Guadeloupe.

Sugar enjoys numerous advantages in terms of its multiple contributions to rural development as well as to the economy in general : high labour revenues (pluriactive farmers), complementary income, dependable revenues, maintenance of the countryside. The importance of services in this particularly organised industry gives it a structuring role for rural areas in terms of income creation and of services to other farm productions. In addition, growing sugar cane, including its related industrial activities, presents no major environmental problems. Sugar cane farming thus appears worth preserving, even within the framework of economic diversification. However it is greatly weakened by its dependence on public support and by the current liberalisation of the EU sugar and rum markets.

Territory : French landscape change between 1992 and 2002. Development of housing and extension of forests in areas with partial or total agricultural abandomnent

2007-08-22T10:36:51Z

The French landscape changes between 1992 and 2002 : more artificial and less open because of urban sprawl and the loss of fondness for agricultural zones.

Between 1992 and 2002, in France the trend is towards a reduction of agricultural lands, especially of meadows, and towards an extension of forests and zones connected with urban development (roads, parking lots, construction sites, quarries, etc.) and building. A more detailed analysis, by 324-hectare sections located at 6 km. intervals, gives the current organisation of land use and its modifications. Seven movements have been identified. Man-made changes in the land are the most frequent, and in most regions of France. Forests are spreading and thus making the landscape more homogeneous. In contrast, farm zones tend to lose their homogeneity and even lose their traditional vocations. Only 30% of landscapes remain stable, and 19% increase their agricultural use.

Farm Accounts Data Network (RICA)

2007-07-10T10:21:05Z

Disappointing harvests, lower prices : 2005 is difficult for the crop sector

In 2005 the farms covered by the Reseau d'information comptable agricole (RICA/ FADN) show a drop of 9.4% in real current pre-tax income, after an increase of 2.6% in 2004. As in 2003, farms again face drought conditions in 2005, which penalise most crop harvests. Production falls in almost every sector, as do most selling prices. Except for market garden produce and horticulture, all plant orientations suffer a decline in results. For arboriculture and wine-growers in particular, 2005 is a very difficult year

A wide range of agricultural revenues

2007-05-18T08:22:35Z

The income that non-salaried farmers draw from their activity varies greatly.

There are differences in revenue according to the specialisation ; differences are even more noticeable between farms with a same specialisation. The highest incomes are in appellation wines and the lowest among sheep and goat breeders. The unexpected events that can affect this sector, like climate conditions or disease, explain the variability of results.

There was a clear narrowing of the dispersion of income in specialisations that are covered by the 1992 and 1999 reforms of the CAP during the 1990s, to stabilise subsequently, mainly in field cropping and to a lesser extent in cattle breeding. By limiting annual variations, direct subsidies that are independent of production provide stability for the lower farm incomes.

Prices and production costs of six field crops : wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower, beets and potatoes

2007-05-18T08:19:59Z

Because of technical progress and the increasing internationalisation of certain markets, production prices of the main farm products continue to fall in constant euros.

Consequently French farmers must master their production costs in order to maintain their competitiveness and to ensure the long-term survival of their farms. In 2004 for the cereals and oilseeds presented here, the production price is less than the cost. Faced with declining prices, the Common Agricultural Policy, reformed in 1992 and again in 1999, guarantees net margins for cereals such as wheat and maize, and oilseeds such rapeseed and sunflowers, while adjusting the volume of production. On a very volatile international sugar market, sugar beets have so far benefited from guaranteed prices on production quotas. Regulated by the market, potatoes are not subsidised.

Strong growth in the number of agricultural firms

2007-05-18T08:11:27Z

The number of farms organised as business firms continues to progress. With 130,000 units in 2005, these farms account for 40% of professional farms.

Because of the flexibility that they offer, “limited-liability farms” (EARL : exploitation agricole à responsabilité limitée) have seen spectacular growth and now outnumber “farms grouped for shared exploitation” (Gaec : Groupement agricole d'exploitation en commun). Farms organised as business firms are large, averaging 180 hectares of wheat equivalent, twice the size of individual professional farms. Specialised in pigs and poultry and field cropping, they are concentrated in the north of France. Six out of ten have recourse to non-family employees, permanent or seasonal, but it is mainly one-person firms that employ permanent staff.

Quality certification : Milk prices and farm profitability

2007-03-27T09:35:56Z

Average prices for milk paid to producers in 2000 and 2004 fell, whether or not milk is the main production of the farm. The factors analysed in this study include the size of the farms, the region and the presence of quality labels.

The diversity in prices paid to producers for their milk is widening. It reflects differences in production choices concerning the quality of the milk (composition, production conditions) and in markets. The effects of the region where the milk is produced or of farm size on price dispersion are less than the effects of the quality of staple dairy products.

In the case of specialised professional “cattle-milk” dairy farms, revenue per hectolitre increases between 2000 and 2004, despite the fall in prices. Enhancing the value of milk is more sensitive to the presence of quality certification than to size of the farm.

In terms of return on capital, performance of the different channels is similar. Large farms have a greater profitability than the others in 2004 despite lower profit margins. Profitability of farms producing milk for AOC (appellation d'origine contrôlée) products reaches that of productions without labels of quality certification. Farms producing with a professional quality label show the highest profits in 2004.

Effects of proximity to cities on farm production systems

2007-03-13T07:34:02Z

Because of increasing peri-urban sprawl, agricultural production systems must today be analysed according to the location of the farm : they are influenced by both the size of neighbouring urban areas and the farm's distance from them.

Near cities, especially the largest of them, farms are small and intensive. Farther from urban centres, because it is less expensive, land is substituted for capital and for labour. These effects can be seen for several kilometres around small cities and for as far as several dozen kilometres around larger metropolises.

French agriculture over the last 50 years ; from small family farms to single farm payments

2007-01-22T12:23:33Z

Over the last 50 years, agriculture has played a smaller and smaller role in the national economy although its performance in terms of productivity is comparable to those of other sectors.

But the slump in real agricultural prices has brought about a drop in global revenue. Thus, agricultural revenue and all that contributes to this revenue has gone through a series of fluctuations very much linked to the developments in the common agricultural policy. If the average revenue per worker has increased in real terms over the last 50 years, it is essentially due to the fact that there are less and less workers employed in agriculture.

Salaried employees and farm equipment, two factors of development

2006-12-22T11:53:41Z

In 2005, slightly fewer than one professional farm out of two employs non-family staff, either on a permanent or seasonal basis.

In 2005, slightly fewer than one professional farm out of two employs non-family staff, either on a permanent or seasonal basis. Market gardeners, horticulturists and wine-growers are the largest employers. The number of permanent salaried jobs has changed only very little in five years, despite the decrease in the number of employers, of which there are 143,000 in 2005. Investment in equipment is mostly for the replacement of existing machines by increasingly powerful machines. In addition, a growing proportion of farms have recourse to equipment called in from outside firms. In 2005, 20% of professional farms are equipped for irrigation, this proportion being notably larger in regions of field crops and permanent crops.

by Solange Rattin