realities on the ground and concerns of farmers
On the one hand, a French society – farmers included – increasingly aware of the negative effects of pesticides on human health and the environment. At the beginning of 2026, the National Assembly should therefore debate the historic petition against the Duplomb law, which has collected more than two million signatures to oppose in particular the reauthorization of acetamiprid. A neonicotinoid harmful to pollinators and aquatic organisms, but which is demanded by certain sectors (beet, hazelnut, etc.) for its effectiveness against aphids.
On the other, a free trade agreement with Mercosur, which arouses the unanimous anger of the agricultural world. It threatens to create unfair competition between French and European production with that of countries whose environmental standards are much lower. For example, in Brazil, per hectare, the consumption of phytosanitary products is more than three times higher than that of France (1).
It is caught between these two contradictory realities that French farmers work today. According to a major consultation carried out last year by the association The Shift Project (2), phytosanitary products are a source of concern for three quarters of them, in particular because of the risks to their health. Far from the cliché of an immobile profession, the overwhelming majority (more than 80%) of farmers say they are ready to reduce them, just like synthetic fertilizers, if they are technically supported and if these practices are financially profitable.
The testimonies that follow show the reality of their profession, made up of permanent adaptations, risk-taking and desires for the future. Beyond the diversity of their practices, these farmers all express the same expectation: a coherent political vision of agriculture. And concrete means to implement it.
1) According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
2) theshiftproject.org/publications/grande-consultation-acteurs
Véronique Badets
Florine Gérard, farmer in Marne: “We are already doing a lot to reduce products”
“I have difficulty with the image of polluting farmers that society gives us. We don’t deal for pleasure. Phytos, I know they are not harmless for your health but I am not afraid of them. When I fill the sprayer, I put on a mask and gloves. Here, on our 280 ha of cereals, we use fungicide, herbicide and insecticide. I work with a regional cooperative, Vivescia. Depending on what they see in control plots, the “coop” technicians help us assess the risk of disease and adapt the quantity of product to apply. We are free to follow the advice or not. Sometimes, I sometimes do two passes of fungicide instead of three to save money, because the products are becoming more and more expensive. Our income is directly affected. In addition, we are removing the use of molecules.
Every fall I weed soft winter wheat with flufenacet. This is the penultimate time because we will no longer be able to use it after December 2026. Without herbicide, the fields are dirty (with weeds, editor’s note) and the wheat loses quality. What will we do afterwards? If products are taken away from us, research must offer us alternatives: new varieties or other treatments. Mechanical weeding requires equipment to purchase, additional time and costs. I find that French agriculture is already doing a lot to reduce products. When we have treatments on rapeseed, we do them at night so as not to disturb the pollinators. We leave grassy strips along watercourses and ditches. So when we are told, with Mercosur, about importing cereals treated with phytochemicals that I can no longer use, I have difficulty understanding.
Véronique Badets
Mélanie André, in Hautes-Alpes: “I try to find solutions, but the consumer has to change too”
“The specialty of my farm is the Golden des Alpes, our local apple. My main concern is scab (mushroom, editor’s note) and aphids. I managed to treat the scab. But the aphid is a disaster! I can’t get rid of it. Over the past two years, my returns have decreased by 30% to 40%. On the one hand, with climate change, we have increasingly humid and warmer springs; on the other, we are taking away the only molecule that works against this insect in a single pass, acetamiprid. Neonicotinoids, if we spray them before the flower, what is the risk for the bees? The problem is those who do not do their job correctly and penalize the entire sector.
I would like us to be allowed to use one product that is effective rather than five that are not. I used to put the sprayer away in May. Now I feel like I’m processing all the time! It’s more work and exorbitant costs. Movento is a systemic product that I used as an alternative to acetamiprid, but it too has just been banned. So I try to find solutions. For example, in conjunction with my cooperative, I test copper at high doses, to make the leaves fall early and prevent the remigration of aphids in the fall. As we are going to be banned from more and more molecules, I am looking for new varieties. A nurseryman has just introduced me to the Inogo apple, which is yellow and more resistant to aphids. I agree to plant it, but the salespeople refuse to buy it from me, for fear that it will not go well on the stalls. In order for us to evolve, consumers must also change their purchasing habits and agree to eat something other than goldens or grannies.”
Véronique Badets
Paulinet and Benjamin Fauduet, in Indre: “We expect a clear course from the government”
“Our family farm has seen seven generations of breeders and as many different practices. After using all kinds of inputs, we have greatly reduced their use. We no longer fertilize the meadows where our animals graze with chemical fertilizer. We have reduced our livestock and are no longer expanding the land. Of our 340 ha, around a third is devoted to growing cereals and legumes to feed our animals: wheat, triticale, clover, faba bean. There, we continue to spread herbicide and fungicides, but the doses have been halved in ten years. This model allowed us to regain financial prosperity because, previously, the operation was too large and we were drowning in debt. In this situation, we could not buy our phytosanitary products from the agricultural cooperative without taking out a loan. We therefore had to pay nearly 800 euros in interest each year.
Now we have escaped the infernal machine of debt and have gained more economic independence. In our ecological transition, we benefit from European subsidies (Maec – agro-environmental and climatic measures) to reduce the use of products; and the Civam associative network (initiative centers to promote agriculture and the rural environment, editor’s note) trains us in our changes in practice. However, we are not yet thinking about converting the farm to organic, because it would be too risky to do without pesticides entirely. We have a significant loan remaining and we must ensure solid returns. We are waiting for a clear direction from the government… When will there be a real national policy so that our children no longer have to use chemistry in the fields?”
Caroline Celle
Michel Bedouet, in Loire-Atlantique: “My father’s death was an electric shock”
“Wine growers are among the first concerned by the health dangers of pesticides. In 2007, my father died of leukemia, after fifteen years of fighting the disease. He grew vines all his life and experienced the euphoria of the 1960s, when phytosanitary products entered the fields. Like all his neighbors, he sprayed the plots without gloves or mask while the children played in the garden nearby. My father always refused to recognize that his illness had its origins there. For me, his death was an electric shock. After twenty-five years of conventional viticulture, I felt like I was failing, because I was still producing the same soulless wine, with products that were harmful to my health. So, in 2010, I chose to convert my plots to organic farming, against the advice of wine growers in the region. They didn’t believe it or they accused me of calling into question the model that made them live. In the profession, there is a silence around pesticides.
However, how many loved ones are mysteriously struck by cancer or Parkinson’s disease? Last year, I joined the Phyto-Victimes association, which fights to have the dangers of these products recognized. I learned that my father’s leukemia was recognized as an occupational disease linked to exposure to pesticides. Do we have to go so far as to die for society to care about our fate? I myself contracted cancer of the immune system and this pathology is still not recognized by agricultural compensation funds. Today I am healed and happy. Organic allows me to experience what makes the profession rich. My grapes draw their flavor from the terroir, from this land full of minerals which is not damaged by any chemical product. I have never felt nature so alive. »
Caroline Celle
Baptiste Marquié, in Haute Garonne: “I continue to favor organic because the sale price is more attractive”
“I was one of the first to go organic in Lauragais in 2015, because I wanted to follow the example of a few leading farmers. I saw a friend die at the age of 52 from cancer caused by phytosanitary treatments. It makes you think. Today, out of my 150 ha, I switched 30 back to conventional. Xanthium, which grows in my soybean and sunflower fields, is a tenacious weed, impossible to manage organically. This method of cultivation requires double the working time compared to conventional cultivation. The weather constraints are also greater: if we intervene two days too late, it could turn into a disaster.
However, I continue to favor organic on my land, because the sale price is more attractive; and as we invest less than conventional, my cash flow is less impacted per hectare. This allows you to reap good margins. Organic plants prove to be more resistant. I work in a three-year rotation so as not to impoverish the soil and be attacked by the same insects. In my opinion, France has the most sustainable agriculture in the world, with high standards, unlike our neighbors. What I criticize our governments for is letting in fruits and vegetables grown by countries with products that have been banned for a long time. Europe has not harmonized anything at this level.”
Patrice Tesseire-Duffour
