Farmers await Walloon minister's promised support: 'We need political backing'

The Foire de Libramont, Europe's largest agricultural fair, draws over 200,000 visitors, showcasing impressive machinery and livestock. Beyond the festive atmosphere, the event serves as a crucial political platform where elected officials face scrutiny.

Two years into the mandate of the Walloon government, Agriculture Minister Anne-Catherine Dalcq, herself a farmer, was seen as a potential bridge to the struggling agricultural sector. However, farmers are expressing growing impatience with the lack of tangible progress.

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The minister still has two years ahead of her to implement what she promised. Personally, I am waiting for a simplification of short supply chains. Today, choosing this sector represents too many constraints.

Jonathan, a cattle farmer from the province of Liège, acknowledges the need for adaptation to climate change, noting that tasks are increasingly done earlier each year. While understanding that transitions take time, he awaits simplification of short supply chains, which he finds too restrictive currently. "The minister still has two years ahead of her to implement what she promised," he stated.

Sector representatives are more direct. Florian Poncelet, president of the Young Farmers Federation (FJA), warned that the minister has only two more fairs to act. He noted some progress on pesticide use near water sources but deemed it insufficient, with guarantees and budgets still lacking. "We still have no long-term vision, which we desperately need," he added, though he acknowledged improved understanding of the sector's challenges.

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It's her third Foire de Libramont, she only has two left to act. Some files are moving forward, like the use of pesticides around catchment areas, but it's still insufficient. And even on this file, we still lack guarantees and budgets. We still have no long-term vision, which we desperately need.