'Agriculture and economic liberalism are not compatible'

Does it make you sad to see so many French farmers exporting their products to different countries, like the United States or Japan?
Not at all. What I do not agree with is the export of raw materials to countries that have their own resources, because the EU, now a big grain exporter, is damaging local markets and ruining the lives of both producers and people in poor countries. On the other hand, I don't see any inconvenience when small providers, who specialize in high-quality products such as cheese or wine, wish to export to rich countries. It's not the same thing, because they are not destroying local production or forcing prices up, making them unaffordable to the poor. Those who pay high prices for Camembert, pâté or French wine in Japan and the U.S.A. can certainly do it with no major budget concerns.

Nonagricultural French goods are sold all around the world. Isn't that globalization as well?
The fact is that local networks like the [the Association for the Preservation of Local Farming] allow local producers to establish their own networks of clients, and I find that positive. It is only natural that they use merchandising techniques. But they are not producing mainly to export. Boats filled with tons of products are not being sent to countries that have their own resources and can develop the same methods as the AMAP in France and in Europe. They might export some traditional cheese and wine or even some sort of meat, but that is an exception.

An increasing number of French families are trying their luck and investing in farms. These people think in a rather different way about markets, competence, skills and communication. Isn't that globalization as well?
Absolutely not. They practice what I call "resistance farming." Their practices are totally opposed to those of big markets and big producers and suppliers. Without them there would be fewer farmers and more land in the hands of the industrial farmers. I believe that in some regions that [family farmers represent] as much as 50 percent of new farms, especially in the south. I am not so sure that they are "market-oriented," as you say. I believe they want to invest in products that provide local consumers and help develop local economies. What is wrong with that? They don't destroy local systems; they help their development.

© 2008