Containment: the agricultural sector is looking for 200,000 volunteers to work in the fields

By Alexandra Segond Published on News See my news

“I want to launch a big appeal to the shadow army, a big appeal to women and men who want to work, a big appeal to those who are confined to their homes”. These were the words, Tuesday March 24, 2020, of the Minister of Agriculture Didier Guillaume.

At the microphone of BFMTV, he yesterday called on the French to swell the ranks of “the great army of French agriculture“, penalized like many by the coronavirus epidemic.

Objective: to continue to meet the food needs of France by helping certain infected farmers, penalized by the lack of often foreign seasonal workers or forced to reorganize their daily lives in these times of health crisis.

200,000 seasonal positions until May

"Vineyard tractor", "vineyard worker", "worker for pruning", "full market gardener", "beekeeper"... Seasonal job offers follow one another on the desbraspourtonplate.wizi.farm website, launched by the National Federation of farmers' unions (FNSEA), the National Agriculture Employment and Training Association (ANEFA), Pôle emploi and the start-up Wizifarm to facilitate the connection of volunteers and employers.

The motivated volunteer, once registered, will be able to access and apply for the offers of the sector. The employer will then be able to select the profiles previously sorted according to criteria “of availability, location, know-how and centers of interest” and get in touch with them via internal messaging.

“We have 200,000 vacancies from April to May. Some of them concern the harvest, since it is necessary to replace the seasonal reinforcements, often foreign, who usually come at this time and can no longer circulate with the coronavirus ”, indicates to Actu.fr Mickaël Jacquemin, president of the National Agriculture Employment Training Association (ANEFA).

Among the sectors affected by this labor shortage, the dairy chain sector. "We have 10 to 30% absenteeism in the Grand-Ouest zone, and 30% or even more in the regions most affected by the coronavirus", details Caroline Le Poultier, director general of the National Interprofessional Center for the Dairy Economy ( CNIEL).

Read also

“No need for a bac+5, your two arms are enough! »

For those who are wondering about the skills required or the profiles sought, any help is welcome. “For a few hours or more, in the field, in the orchard or on the farm… No need for a bac+5, your two arms are enough! », indicates the home page of the site.

The Ministries of Labor and Agriculture have encouraged job seekers and employees placed on technical unemployment to join the sector temporarily. In view of the state of health emergency declared on Monday March 23, "the employee will be able to combine his partial activity allowance with the salary of his employment contract in the agri-food sector", they announced in a joint press release.

And the Chamber of Agriculture has for its part created an “agricultural employment exchange” in order to “connect farmers who have workers available to lend them to others who have labor needs. »

“Anyone on partial unemployment, unemployment, RSA, the self-employed can come and help us. Our activity cannot stop, we need your help”, added Christiane Lambert, the president of the FNSEA.

“It is not a question of voluntary help but of a real “paid economic activity, with a payslip”, underlines Mickaël Jacquemin for his part.

https://t.co/XF4Y9XfvIE For this Finishing 101 demo, I show you how to ebonize wood using… https://t.co/7hLxSpV6iP https://t.co/DBZKZPlfAF

— SimpleCove Mon Sep 12 00:24:41 +0000 2016

Read also

Health safety, priority of the sector

But launching a national call to come and lend a hand in the fields while confinement is prohibited and travel limited in the face of the spread of the coronavirus, wouldn't that be a bit paradoxical, some wonder.

The sector wants to be reassuring in terms of health security, its “first concern”, explains Mickaël Jacquemin, who is still awaiting “more information, particularly legal”, from the government.

“Already, in normal times, sanitary measures are very strict in agriculture. For our part, we work with milk, a very sensitive raw material. You have to undergo specific training, especially for jobs on the processing line, before you can handle the milk,” adds Caroline Le Poultier.

In addition, the MSA, agricultural social security, has made available to farmer employers “sheets recalling safety instructions and barrier gestures for working safely”, which can be downloaded from their site.

Among the recommendations of the MSA: – One person at a time to wash their hands at the sink – Regular hand washing, before and after taking up shift, between each client, change of equipment or tool – Updating provision of soap, paper towels and “if possible hydroalcoholic gel” for volunteers in the fields – Favor side-by-side work rather than face-to-face, with always the distance between people (for example, if possible at the less than 2 meters)– Avoid the transmission of media between individuals (pencils, papers, documents, etc.)– “When possible”, set up an entrance and an exit allowing a flow of movement– Favor individual and isolated activity . Provide the means to communicate by telephone or any lone worker prevention device (work on different plots, several rows apart, etc.).

If a certain vagueness persists on the strict respect of its sanitary measures, a practical guide, established by the Ministry of Labor and the actors of the sector, must see the light of day by the end of the week.

Prioritize the local

“All help is welcome! “, repeats Mickaël Jacquemin, even if he confirms “to favor the local, insofar as we must limit travel“. A perspective shared by the dairy industry, which initially preferred to appeal to the entourage of farmers before embarking on a potential national appeal, recognizes Caroline Le Poultier.

And also shared by the government. “We are facing a reduced number of European seasonal workers who have until now carried out activities in the fields, in particular harvesting. We therefore need workers to keep it going, ”said Sibeth Ndiaye, government spokesperson, after the meeting of ministers on Wednesday March 25, 2020.

And consumers can be reassured: no food shortage is expected. “Where we have to be vigilant, it is rather concerning the workforce and the continuity of the supply chain, that is to say from the transport of (processed) products to the shelves. The harvests – or the milk, for our part – continue to be produced every day in a fluid way”, estimates the president of the CNIEL.

"There will be no delay in supply," confirms Mickaël Jacquemin, for whom we will even face an overproduction of certain foodstuffs, such as potatoes and milk.

Read also

49,000 volunteers already identified

To date, nearly 49,000 volunteers have been identified since Didier Guillaume's call on Tuesday, rejoices Mickaël Jacquemin:

Beyond that, the agricultural sector hopes, why not, to create vocations. The milk trades thus record “10 to 15% of permanently vacant positions, both because these are skilled trades and because the generations have difficulty in renewing themselves”, deplores Caroline Le Poultier.

"Structurally, the labor problem is unfortunately a trend that we observe throughout the year", remarks for his part the president of ANEFA. Before adding: "We can only hope that when we come out of this crisis, we will remember that agriculture is hiring, with a multitude of professions: in addition to working the land, we are dealing with agrifood, biochemistry, fuels, energy…”

Read also

Was this article helpful to you? Note that you can follow Actu in the My Actu space. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.

Share