French President’s Bold Plan to Stop Dependence on Brazil’s Soybeans

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil is the world’s largest soybean producer, exporting the grain to 50 different countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Last year, the industry yielded over US$30 billion (R$150 billion).

However, amidst growing criticism of the link between planting and deforestation, French President Emmanuel Macron was the first to bang the gavel: he promised his nation independence from Brazilian soybeans.

On Tuesday, December 1st, the French government and agricultural sector pledged to increase by 40% the areas dedicated to the cultivation of the protein-rich plants in just three years. This is equivalent to an extra 400,000 hectares of farmland by 2023.

Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie said this is an “intermediate” step: in ten years, the government pledges to double the cultivated area to two million hectares dedicated to growing oilseeds and legumes by 2030.

French producers have signed a “letter of commitment”, vowing to respect the goal in exchange for financial subsidies, worth 100 million euros (almost R$630 million) over two years, to encourage the cultivation and research of protein-rich crops.

According to Denormandie, the contract aims to safeguard “agri-food sovereignty” and put an end to soy imports linked to deforestation. Currently, half of the vegetable proteins for animal feed used in France come from imports and the country is the largest importer of Brazilian soy meal in the European Union: of the 2.2 million tons that crossed its borders last year, over 88% came from Brazil.

Ecologically friendly

In September, France vehemently opposed the trade agreement between the European Union and MERCOSUR because of deforestation in the Amazon region. Moreover, in 2018 the country committed to zero its contribution to deforestation linked to the import of non-sustainable agricultural products by 2030.

The “plant protein plan” – expected two years ago when Macron announced that he would “bring an ambitious protein plan to the European continent” – also provides a budget of three million euros (R$19 million) to encourage the consumption of legumes by the population (particularly children).

A major part of his presidency depends on reconciling the environment and the economy. Since his inauguration in 2017, the French leader has been fighting to implement more environmentally friendly policies under pressure from environmental protection groups and part of society. However, it was a tax on CO2 emissions that ignited the Yellow Vests’ protests in 2018, which almost brought down his government.

In August and November, Greenpeace activists protested in Paris to denounce the government’s “inaction” and “silence” over the fires in the Amazon, which were set for land to be used for livestock and agriculture. Macron had already conceded that the country was “partly complicit” in the so-called “imported deforestation”.

“Emmanuel Macron promised a lot, but has done nothing,” said Jean-François Julliard, director of Greenpeace France.

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest recorded its highest growth in 12 years, according to the National Institute of Space Research (INPE). The affected area increased by approximately 9.5% between August 2019 and July 2020 compared to the preceding period, from 2018 to 2019.

Source: Veja

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error