2024-01-28 17:07:47
813 000 people worked permanently in France, in 2020, in agriculture (farmers and co-farmers, family workers, permanent non-family employees), according to the latest agricultural census. In this sector, the number of assets has fallen by 11% in ten years. Over a long period of time, the fall appears dizzying, since, in 1970, there were still 2.3 million farmers.
48,7 % of metropolitan French territory, or 269,000 km2, are devoted to agriculture. An area that remained stable (– 0.4 points) between 2010 and 2020, after a period of severe decline. Half a century ago, the agricultural area used corresponded to 54.4% of the national area.
100 hectares and more, this is the average area occupied by more than 100,000 farms, or a quarter of the total. In 1970, these “large” farms represented only 2%. In a context of reduction in the number of farms (-20% in ten years), the average surface area used by each of them increased from 55 ha in 2010 to 69 ha in 2020.
1is, this is France’s rank among agricultural countries in Europe. Our country provides just under a fifth of the EU’s agricultural production. Over the decades, despite enlargements, France has retained its historic position as leader in this sector.
13,7 millions cows made up the cattle population in France on April 1, 2023, according to data from FranceAgriMer, while there were 19.8 million in 2010. Cattle farms occupied a third of metropolitan agricultural land in 2020. France is notably in 2nd position in Europe, behind Germany, among milk producing countries.
1,9 % of gross domestic product is, in 2022, derived from agriculture, forestry and fishing (compared to 1.7% at the level of the 27 countries of the European Union). This share was around 20% at the end of the Second World War and still stood at 10% in 1960.
1 620 € per month, this is the average remuneration of a self-employed farmer, in 2021. In 2023, according to INSEE estimates, the gross added value per worker (which takes into account subsidies) fell by 9% in 2023 The disparities are strong from one agricultural area to another, from one farm to another. In 2019, the National Institute of Statistics established the percentage of farmers living below the poverty line at 26%.
9.5 billion euros of European subsidies were granted in 2023 to French agriculture, according to INSEE. This amount includes subsidies on products, intended for certain types of production, and operating subsidies, in particular agro-environmental aid and aid for agricultural disasters. France remains the primary beneficiary of these subsidies.
3,67 kg pesticides were consumed on average per hectare in 2021, in France. This quantity is slightly higher than the European average (3.2 kg). In 2020, the number of hectares treated with phytosanitary products in France was 10% higher than in 2008, the date of launch of a plan to drastically reduce the use of pesticides, a plan which has since been revised twice.
14 % French farms are involved in organic farming. In 2022, 2.9 million hectares, or 11% of the agricultural area, were cultivated ecologically (+ 2.7% in one year). These figures reflect a strong increase compared to 2010, when only 3% of land in France was covered by this mode of production.
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