2023-10-04 18:14:47
“It’s a financial loss, it’s stressful. We don’t sleep well because we don’t know if the next day we will have any production left in the fields! » Charlène, a farmer in Villemaury (Eure-et-Loir), is worn out by repeated thefts in her fields. For 34 years, his father, François, has been involved in growing vegetables in the field. Even as a child, she heard about the disappearance of potatoes, onions and salads. At the time, it was still a matter of gleaning that did not follow the rules*.
But in recent months, the phenomenon has grown. “People come to help themselves directly before the machines have passed, there is no respect,” laments the farmer. They completely fill the trunks of the cars.” An alarming observation shared seven days ago by Luc Smessaert, the vice-president of the FNSEA (National Federation of Farmers’ Unions), who called for good citizenship: “I understand that there are problems with food inflation, but we must respect, and above all we must support, farmers.”
Organized networks for walkers and local residents
Eggplants, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, leeks, zucchini, shallots, or onions, depending on the season, thieves opt for vegetables that are reaching maturity.
The thieves opt for vegetables that are reaching maturity./LP/Christophe Blondel
The operator also suspects organized theft networks which resell their production on parallel markets. But they are not the only ones. The profile of thieves is varied. “It could be elderly people, families, local people,” points out the young market gardener.
Cameras, surveillance… nothing stops thieves
To discourage thieves, the farm invests in security. “No entry” signs, planted at the edge of the plot, tell “walkers” that the field is “forbidden to the public”. Nets close off certain crops.
This year, the family installed two cameras and spent 2,500 euros to monitor the four hectares of land dedicated to market gardening. “It creates additional expenses. Everything that leaves, we don’t sell it even though we took the trouble to produce it,” regrets the farmer.
In Villemaury (Eure-et-Loir), this farm is stepping up its actions to stem vegetable theft on its farm. LP/Christophe Blondel
Already four complaints filed this year
From now on, even during the markets, the farm is never without a human presence. However, it is impossible to keep an eye on the 80 hectares where potatoes, onions and squash grow. These farmers regularly resort to the police. “The pumping station, the theft of cables, the GPS in the tractors, the vegetables, we have already filed four complaints since January in the Charlène catalog. This is the first year where there are so many! »
With no other solution to defend her livelihood, Charlène relies on people’s sense of responsibility to stem the phenomenon, even if she has little hope of deterring the thieves.
* Gleaning is an ancestral right which can only be exercised on someone else’s land after the harvest has been removed. It can only be done during the day but is strictly prohibited on fenced land. Collection must be done by hand without tools and must not be an agricultural or commercial activity. The simplest thing is always to ask the farmer before picking up the crops.
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