This is very bad.
From The Connexion, April 9:
The emergency support comes after freezing weather caused significant damage to crops
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....
....MUCH MORE
