Overview
- The count comes from the Agriculture Ministry’s triennial survey, which Terre de Liens highlighted with a public data release.
- The association says small holdings are mostly being absorbed by larger operations, reflecting increasing concentration and financialization of farmland.
- An interactive map built with TerritoiresFertiles.fr offers commune-level trends and notes that 90% of departments have lost over half their farms since the late 1980s, with Brittany and northern areas especially affected.
- The appeal targets local leaders ahead of the national mayors’ congress, urging use of zoning and other tools to preserve agricultural land.
- Proposals include easing new farmer installations, backing local and organic procurement, protecting water resources, and inventorying farmland, with a warning that retirements by 2030 could accelerate the decline.