France Agri-tech

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Blink:

I follow the U.S. “Farm to Table” movement closely and have posted several times about Dan Barber one of the movement’s leading advocates. Recently out of curiosity, I thought I research what is happening with agriculture here in France a food centric society. A brief update.

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The plan: France’s current agricultural transformation is going to be funded as part of the country’s government 2030 Plan; €2.3 billion divided between farmers aid and innovative technology solutions (Agri-tech funding). The long-term plan is to make France a global leader exporting their farming technology worldwide. The plan has met its fair share of opposition given the economic uncertainty there are sufficient funds to support going global. Note: The French have a different method of lobbying when it comes to opposing government policy – farmers protested by dumping manure in front of government buildings.

The adaption of robotics has been driving France’s Agri-tech innovation. It is estimated wine producers are utilizing 250 robots to offset labor shortages (e.g., weeding). Currently three-quarters of regular farmers are using or sharing a robotized tool. Will France drive the global agricultural robot market currently projected at $14billion and lead a “robot to table” movement?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Opinions Welcomed!

1 thought on “France Agri-tech”

  1. I guess dumping manure at the foot of the government buildings generates awareness if not ire. I’m surprised no one’s done that here… yet.

    My cousins run a moderate sized dairy farm in southwestern Wisconsin. They were the first farm in the state (for sure) and possibly the country to implement a state of the art automated Swedish milking system.

    When the cows are ready to be milked, they walk over to the milking stalls. Their chip is read to ID the cow, their udders are auto washed and sanitized, they are mapped via infrared, and then the milking tubes automatically attach themselves. Meanwhile, up front, the cow is enjoying a special treat. When the milking is done, the steps are reversed and the cow is automatically ushered out of the stall, and the milk yield is entered into the system. It’s amazing!

    This automation frees up my cousins for other chores of which there are many!

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