Fire in Aude: Winegrowers demand “an emergency fund”

They are calling for help. Winegrowers in the Aude region affected by the massive fire that raged last Tuesday in the Corbières massif are hoping for "an emergency fund" to compensate for losses not covered by insurance, said the vice-president of the FNSEA (French National Federation of Forestry and Forestry) two days before the Minister of Agriculture's visit. "Field reports indicate that 1,000 to 1,500 hectares have been heavily impacted (...) that is, with losses of funds, losses of crops, vines that have received retardant products, that have been exposed to smoke for several days," Jérôme Despey, also a winegrower and president of the FranceAgriMer Wine and Cider Specialist Council, told AFP on Tuesday. According to him, winegrowers have "strong expectations" regarding the visit of Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard to the Aude region on Thursday.

In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, "it will provide support to local stakeholders in the sector and concrete aid measures for farmers, and in particular for affected winegrowers," the ministry said on Tuesday. A meeting will be devoted to "emergency measures" but also to "sustainable solutions to rebuild and strengthen the resilience of affected farms . " "The destroyed vines are mostly insured. Losses linked to non-conformity of wines due to smoke or retardant, that is something that insurance companies do not cover a priori," explains Jérôme Despey.

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Winegrowers are calling for an "emergency fund" , with Jérôme Despey calling on the minister to "turn to the national solidarity allowance (ISN)" , a fund designed to compensate farmers not covered by multi-risk insurance in the event of losses linked to climatic hazards. Jérôme Despey also mentioned "an envelope for covering social security contributions" and "a reduction in the tax on undeveloped land" for the winegrowers concerned. He also hopes that they can supplement their production by purchasing musts or grapes outside their farm "beyond the 5% authorized when there is a climatic hazard" so as not to "lose market share" .

The fire brought under control on Sunday evening has covered 16,000 hectares, destroyed 36 houses and burned more than twenty agricultural sheds, according to the prefecture. Jérôme Despey, who will be in Aude on Thursday, is waiting for "solutions to know how the State can respond to those who are experiencing a tragedy and unfortunately have been experiencing a tragedy for several years (...) with losses of production potential linked to repeated droughts, repeated heat waves and, now, with a major fire (...) The State must be there for a department that is deeply devastated."