As we all know. It’s just weather ~cr
France declares ‘calamité agricole’ after record cold: What is it?
The emergency support comes after freezing weather caused significant damage to crops
9 April 2021
The government has acknowledged the damage that many farmers had suffered to their crops as a result of the freezing weather.
By Hannah Thompson
Farmers across France will receive government support after the agriculture minister acknowledged the damage the cold had wreaked on crops; with the cold snap set to continue across the country.
Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie confirmed a state of “calamité agricole” – or farming disaster – yesterday (April 8), to acknowledge the damage that many farmers had suffered to their crops as a result of the freezing weather.
He told FranceInfo: “[We confirm] the implementation of what we call the calamité agricole scheme
What does that mean?
Normally, a calamité agricole is uninsurable.
But the government recognition and official definition of the situation means that it has committed to providing financial aid as compensation to the farmers and producers affected, as well as ensuring that insurers and banks will also cooperate.
Those affected will now also have access to compensation from the national agriculture risk fund, le Fonds national de gestion des risques en agriculture (FNGRA).
An official calamité agricole must be recognised by authorities before funds from insurers and other sources can be released.
In France, the situation is most often declared due to drought, but this time it has been confirmed due to unseasonably cold temperatures, especially at night.
Mr Denormandie also said that the government had called on insurance companies to confirm their cooperation and support, as well as bankers and lenders.
He said: “We are organising a total emergency response so that support measures can be put in place as quickly as possible to ensure that no one is left behind.”
The article discusses the procedures and accounting of government aid to agriculture and includes this stark warning.
Mr Denormandie also said: “Unfortunately, we are expecting new freezes in the next few days to which we will be paying great attention, so the bill could rise. The situation is already very difficult.”
What temperatures are we talking about?
From Monday April 5, temperatures in some areas of France dropped suddenly to around 7C below the usual average.
Wednesday April 7 was one of the coldest April days since 1930.
Read the full article is here.
via Watts Up With That?
April 11, 2021 at 08:35PM
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