Extreme weather conditions have prompted a much-needed insurance revamp for French farmers.
The situation: French President Emmanuel Macron said the nation will set aside 600M euros ($709M USD) a year to finance the new system.
Why now? An agricultural disaster has been declared in France after an atypical early spring frost hurt crops and many vineyards. Agriculture minister Julien Denormandie said “significant losses” have been registered.
Let’s just say, it was ugly. Apricot and peach farmers have lost up to 90% of their harvest in the Drome and Ardèche regions of central southern France. And 80% of the nation’s vineyards have been impacted by the April frost.
A soundbite: “We’ve never experienced anything like this frost wave,” Denormandie said. “This is probably the greatest agricultural catastrophe of the beginning of the 21st century.”