December 21, 2020

France looks to increase plant proteins by 40% in next three years

French Minister of Agriculture and Food Julien Denormandie has recently brought together stakeholders for a broad consultation on plant proteins.

On this occasion, the minister and representatives of the vegetable oil and protein sector and the livestock farming industry presented a charter of commitment providing for a 40% increase over the next three years thanks to funding from the France Relance plan.

Due to the globalisation of trade, France is not currently self-sufficient in its production of vegetable proteins, whether they are intended for animal or human food. France produces only half of the protein-rich materials needed for animal feed (soybean, rapeseed or sunflower oil cake, etc).

The development of legumes in France will make it possible to limit the use of imports and will thus have beneficial effects for the environment. At the same time, growing legumes will promote biodiversity in the French countryside. Legumes have the ability to fix nitrogen from the air and transform it into nitrogen that can be directly used by plants, thus reducing the use of nitrogen fertilisers.

The development of plant proteins will also provide an additional outlet for farmers, enabling them to respond to new market segments, reduce their imports of inputs and reduce their exposure to fluctuations in world soybean prices.

As the associated challenges are immense, the strategy for French plant proteins was built over 10 years. A plan centered around on three two-year priorities has already been initiated and financed through the France Relance plan to reduce dependence on imports of protein-rich materials, especially soy imported from third countries; improve the food autonomy of French livestock farms, at farm, regional and commodity chain levels; and develop an offerring of local products in terms of pulses (lentils, chickpeas, beans, etc).

- Ministry of Agriculture and Food (France)