2023-06-25 19:13:00
After a motorcycle accident that left him with serious consequences, Julien Beal thought he saw his dream of one day taking over the family farm in Haute-Loire. But the recognition of his handicap, then special arrangements, allowed him to find his livestock.
The day after his accident in March 2021, the doctors, pessimistic, fear that the young man, then 25 years old, could no longer walk.
He finally regains the use of his legs but, despite an operation, moves with difficulty: “I could no longer carry a plate, nor do more than 25 meters”! says the breeder with the chestnut beard, who has undergone more than 80 rehabilitation sessions.
He who was preparing to take over the family farm – a milk cow farm of 130 Montbéliardes in Montfaucon-en-Velay – is seriously thinking of stopping everything.
To have his disability recognised, the young man turned to the MSA (Mutuelle sociale agricole), which commissioned a firm of ergonomists via Agefiph and Cap Emploi.
A fairly rare approach since farmers represent only 2% of people recognized as disabled (2% also of non-disabled people), compared to 31% of workers (20% of non-disabled people), according to figures from Dares (statistical services of the Ministry work).
At the Beals, a new milking parlor has been built, concrete covered with carpets that are more comfortable for walking. The wharf is installed at breeder height and the milking clusters are lightened from 2.9 kg to 1.2 kg.
A remote-controlled barrier allows the cows to be pushed automatically: “no need to go up and down to bring them one by one”, explains the young breeder.
The 25kg cans for transporting milk from mothers to calves have been replaced by a robotic trolley.
There remains one point to improve: the tractor, where the farmer can spend “up to 12 hours a day”. The tremors moved the pins fixed in the back of the young man, who had to have them removed, then acquire a suitable vehicle, with a seat on air suspension.
Financial aid from Agefiph represented 21,131 euros or 28% of the total cost of the investment with a contribution to the financing of around fifteen equipment.
– “silent farmer” –
The young breeder can once again calmly consider taking over when his father retires, in four years.
However, the issue of disability is not easy to address in this environment: “it is not very well seen, some have the impression that we are trying to buy new equipment. It is as if we replace our car with a top-of-the-range car for a question of comfort, when it is still our work tool”, he says.
“It’s a job where physical strength is valued and it’s not easy to accept being diminished by a disability, there is also the fear of being taken for a lazy person”, testifies Jean-Pierre Ruols, doctor work at the MSA Auvergne.
The figures speak for themselves: the number of beneficiaries of the AAH (disabled adult allowance) at the end of 2022 under the agricultural scheme was 36,432 out of more than five million beneficiaries, according to the MSA. The typical profile is a breeder aged 50-55, with back or upper limb problems due to carrying loads and postures, explains Doctor Ruols.
And when the disability goes hand in hand with financial problems, some do not necessarily have the means to pay what remains to be borne by them, as in certain small farms in the Massif Central.
“We actually have this image of the quiet farmer who works despite the difficulties. It is still present, but it tends to fade. As with the use of social benefits, some dare to take the plunge more easily”, explains Emmanuel Rioux , deputy director in charge of social action at the MSA Auvergne.
While it often remains taboo, disability is increasingly recognized, confirms Dr. Ruols: “I manage more files than thirty years ago. When we make adjustments, there is a word of mouth phenomenon . And the generations change”.
06/25/2023 19:11:12 – Montfaucon-en-Velay (France) (AFP)
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