The State of Agriculture in Occitanie 2020 report confirms the region as Frances’s second most important agricultural region. With 64;200 farms providing employment 194,000 a full time or seasonal workers, 7.4% of the working population of the Region. Organic agriculture has tripled in the last 10 years rising from 5% to 17% of farms. Nearly one in every five farmers is now organic.
Every decade the Ministry of Agriculture does a comprehensive study of the state of French agriculture. The national results were published last week, and this week the details of the state of Agriculture in Occitanie 2020 were released. While confirming the regions status as Frances second most important agricultural region the figures are still a sobering read. In the last decade the region has lost 14,000 farms, that is four farm closures a day on average for ten years. Shocking as these figures are they actually mark a decline in farm closures, the rate between 2000 and 2010 was seven a day. At a loss of 18% of farms in the decade it is also slightly below the national average for the decade of 21%.
Average farms size has increased from 41 hectares to 49, way below the national average of 89 hectares. In a region with a strong wine, market garden, fruit tree and poultry farming tradition this is hardly surprising. These farms grew slower during the decade than the larger cereal and beef sector. With fruit growers expanding from an average of 16 to 21 hectares and wine from 17 to 20 hectares.
Despite the industry trend to concentred production into larger and larger farms agriculture in Occitanie is still dominated by micro and small farmers; Micro farms, those with an annual brut revenue below 23;000 euro, and small farms, those with annual revenue of below 100,000 euro make up 72% of farms with medium and large farms the other 28%, a small advance of 2%.
The three pillars of the Occitan agriculture are cereals, 16%, wine, 16%, and cows for meat. 8%. Cereals have been the most resistant to the general decline, with only a 2% decline. Wine numbers have fallen dramatically, by 20% in the decade, as has beef production, also 20%. In the minor categories the decline has been more pronounced. Fruit farms have reduced by 25%, as any drive through the Tet, Tech or Agly valleys so clearly reveals. Pork and poultry farms numbers have also reduced dramatically, a reduction of 44%. Perhaps reflecting the strong pressure to move to more intensive production units. If the government’s recent announcements on the measures to stop avian influenza are pushed through free range, and by default organic, poultry raising on micro and small farms will effectively disappear. The cost of the preventative measures demanded will only be affordable by large scale farms. The other sector that has been hit hard in the last decade has ben the diary sector, with a drop of 40% in the number of farms.
Organic agriculture has seen a massive increase, from 5% of farms a decade ago to 17% in 2020. With 70% of the 10, 794 organic farms in micro and small farm sector organic has clearly been a way for small framers to seek sustainability in turbulent times.
Equally other quality labels, such as AOC, IGP; AOP and STG which seek to promote geographical and traditional production methods have seen an increase to now include 34% of all Occitan farms.
Farming in Occitanie remains predominantly a family affair, of the 91; 620 fill time equivalent jobs in farming approximately 64,000 are the farmers and their families. the rest is made up of employed workers and seasonal employment.
Like the rest of France the farmers are getting older, 31% of the head of farms is over 60% but with 20% of farmers being under 40 there are signs of a new generation entering the profession. Women farms has held steady at 28;3%, slightly below the national average of 31%.
As across the rest of France the level of education of farmers has increased; from 50% of farmers have a bac or equivalent to 66%.
The State of Agriculture in Occitanie 2020 Full report PDF
