Sophie Leguil Profile picture
Mar 4, 2022 19 tweets 10 min read Read on X
France's yearly agricultural exhibition #SIA2022 has opened in a tense context of discussions about food sovereignty. But how is 🇫🇷 faring? Not that well. Only in the past 10 years, 100,000 farms have disappeared, 80,000 farming jobs lost - big increase in farm size 1/n
2/n Increase in farm size often correlated (but not always) with biodiversity loss, eg through plots being brought together, hedgerows removed, more mechanisation. This happened massively during the post-war "remembrement" and is particularly visible in some regions
3/n This has been accompanied by a change in crop types. While France is around 80% autosufficient, there have been decreases in the degree of self-sufficiency eg for fruit and vegs which are imported massively from Southern Europe (the plastic sea of Spain)
4/n Many farmers are going to retire in upcoming years (55% are 55+). It's a hard and weakly rewarding job (with 25% living under the poverty threshold). Access to land is complicated (not only cost, but complexity of paperwork, qualifications etc)
5/n There are welcome initiatives trying to encourage younger farmers eg @JeunesAgri but farmers' pay is a key issue. Supermarkets & intermediaries take huge margins, making it hard for many farmers to sustain their essential role.
6/n Energy prices, threats due to climate change are real concerns for the future, with some regions and crops more affected than others. How will that impact 1) the type of crops that can be grown 2) the yields and therefore self-sufficiency? No one really knows for sure.
7/n But above all, the main threat to farming is soil artificialisation for housing, industry, infrastructure, tourism and other uses. The report issued by @Terredeliens here shows that 55,000 ha of undeveloped land is concreted/year. ressources.terredeliens.org/les-ressources…
8/n meadows and permanent cultures are the worst affected, which is terrible as they also represent enormous carbon stores. Government tools proposed to halt soil artificialisation have led us nowhere - money is still the endgame (what influences local urbanisation plans).
9/n Artificialisation is also encouraged by energy policies - wind turbines, solar panel fields are often proposed on farmland (or land with farming potential). How can this be reconciled? France's widely acclaimed decree on solar panels for roofs? theguardian.com/world/2015/mar…
10/n Another key issue comes into the debate: biodiversity. 🐞 Can we increase food self-sufficiency while restoring nature? Should we go for land sharing or land sparing, two very different strategies? Can we go all-organic or should we transform land & pesticide use?
11/n There's a heated debate on the new EU #Farmtofork strategy which imposes 4% of fallow land 🌱, which may lead to a 15% reduction in global yield. Unsustainable in the current situation, say many farmers and politicians. Essential for biodiversity, say ecologists. Who's right
12/n A tricky topic obviously! Importantly, the report points out an issue with current farming: the overspecialisation in many areas. eg the Meuse department could feed 5x its population - but mainly produces cereals that are exported. Is that the best future-proof strategy?
13/n The report proposes a "relocalisation" of food production. Could that help with biodiversity loss? If farmers are better paid through local sales/not competing with multinationals that drag prices down, can they afford lower yields? This is how sustainable we could be:
14/n Farmers are taking the lead on this. In my region, this farm shop was started and is manned by local farmers. Another initiative is a "farm drive" - order from 20 producers & collect from a convenient location on Fridays. Drinks, meat, bread, dairy, fruit, they have it all.
15/n Many are also selling directly. Here's my favourite cheese producer family, which sell milk, cheese and cream from their cellar (désolé @RepplingerP😄). I know where their cows live & where most of their forage comes from. More expensive than supermarkets? Not necessarily!
16/n Organic or not, diversification is positive for the environment - crops flowering at different times, land being worked at different times can ensure continuous shelter for animals for example. And as an ecologist, I think that's absolutely essential.
17/n Farming practices need to improve (hedges, fewer pesticides, grassland protection, diversification...) but authorities should also support change & act on land grab. Economic development cannot justify farmland loss.
18/n This was a local field left to go pesticide-free after year. Agriculture has played a massive role in biodiversity loss in the past decades but I'm not sure it's the enemy in the long term. Once lost under tarmac, soils cannot be restored. We should remember that.
19/n This is a French-centred thread. But everything I've said is applicable in the UK, where pressure on land is even worse. This map by @OurWestgate of Thanet in Kent shows the scale of the problem. Prime farmland being swallowed by 17140 houses. How will the UK cope?

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More from @SLeguil

Jun 24, 2022
It's "wildflower" season again on social media. Great colourful displays BUT issues which need to be raised :
1) They are often not WILDFLOWERS
2) They are not the best for INSECTS, they may be (not always) to POLLINATORS
3) They certainly aren't MEADOWS
Let me explain 1/n ImageImageImage
Many of the seed mixes contain non-native plants such as California poppies or Mexican cosmos. Even "native" mixes often contain a restricted range of plants, mainly cornfield annuals (poppies, cornflowers...). They're pretty - why does this matter? 2/n ImageImage
As botanists, we are often accused of "plant extremism". But most of us are just concerned about doing the best for nature. Plants and insects have often co-evolved together, meaning that there are specific relationships in different areas of the globe. 3/n Image
Read 17 tweets
Dec 15, 2021
Thread. I was born close to one of France's largest nuclear power plants, Cattenom: a "normal" landscape for local residents since its opening in 1985. ☢️The plant needs a huge amount of cooling water, so an artificial reservoir was created. But how is biodiversity impacted? 1/n
2/n The Mirgenbach lake (7.3 million m3) is a unique ecosystem. Despite being in a cold region (we frequently get -15°C), winter water temp never gets <12°C, meaning that organisms don't behave as in surroundings lakes. Fishing is permitted, as are other activities (windsurf..)
3/n Biodiversity has been extensively studied. While the site is a hotspot for birds (especially migrators as it is so warm in winter), the situation is slightly more contrasted in other groups. Fish or plant diversity for example is affected by temperature.
Read 22 tweets
Sep 28, 2021
1/n Purist or not? I listed arguments against using non-native flower mixes in my blog post. One of them is of course the fact that mixes contain non-native plants, which may be of little use to insects. But it's not the only one. naturanaute.com/2019/07/18/whe…
2/n Another issue is land use. Do people realise that these mixes require obliterating anything that's present before, often through the use of herbicides? This may destroy interesting plants, insects, soil flora, fungi... and councils rarely do prior botanical/insect surveys.
3/n Annual mixes have to be resown every year: they are not competitive against grasses or other plants, non-native plants don't set seed, some species become dominant etc. What's the carbon cost of those floral displays? Is it offset by other ecological benefits?
Read 9 tweets
May 20, 2021
A terrifying yet unsurprising study has just been published about biodiversity in Luxembourg, "in freefall". 😟 This is a tiny country, the size of Greater London roughly divided in two: a wooded, hilly North & a flatter agricultural, urban and industrial South 🇱🇺 🐄🌾🌲🏭🏗️ 1/n
2/n Luxembourg is sadly famous for its 600 banks. There's scientific knowledge through @naturmusee & cross-borders projects. But the economic pressure is strong. Urbanisation, property speculation & infrastructure projects are rampant. Perhaps this study will be an eye-opener?
3/n Here are some the findings: 68% of habitats are in poor/bad conservation state, only 16% of grasslands in good state. 83% of fauna/flora in poor/bad state - populations of Grey partridge ↘️from 330 in 1980 to 10 now ; Little owl ↘️from 3400 to 20 😱 🐦🦉🦤
Read 20 tweets
Feb 1, 2021
The London Resort theme park has passed its 1st planning hurdle - and it is a death sentence on nature in SE England. Conservationists are trying to save this amazing nature space, but with 2.5bn investments & a government committed to infrastructure projects, what hope is there?
Swanscombe includes habitats that have become rare with urbanisation along the Thames, such as chalk grassland, wetlands & brownfield. It is home to 250 insect species of "conservation concern" - that is, at risk of extinction!
Of course, there are rare plants, such as Hairy Vetchling, Round-leaved Wintergreen, Pyramidal/Man orchids. It is also an important site for bird life, from residents to migratory birds which are able to stop and feed away from the bustle of the city & nearby industrial estates.
Read 9 tweets
Jun 11, 2020
Morning rant...I am fed up with being called angry and dull for pointing out potentially damaging actions marketed as conservation - "wildflower" mixes, storks etc... Yes, we need more direct action, but why does it have to be dumbed down and "prettified"? 1/n
2/n with my other hat (@morethanweeds), I have started to introduce urban residents to their local flora, and the response has been fantastic - people are sending me emails to ask me how to transplant Herb Robert and poppies from their streets before they get sprayed!
3/n organisations such as @Natures_Voice encourage people to observe local birds and make their gardens more attractive. My point is: why does it have to be so different with plants? Are wild plants considered to be so boring that we have to "garden" them?
Read 16 tweets

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