France's farmers

Many people think they know what the French farmer is like. These are some things
they know about him.
1. He uses five times as much fertilizer as in 1950
2. He harvests two and half times as much wheat per hectare as he did them.
3. He gets twice as much milk from his cow as in 1950.
4. He has made maize ( or corn) into a major crop. (It was scarcely grown 25 years
ago.)
5. The number of French farmers ( including family and hired help) decreases about
7.5 % a year. Output increases by 2 to 2.5 %

Maybe we should all know the French farmer better

Inequalities
France has about 32 million hectares, or 80 million acres, of farmed land. If we
exclude the very small holdings and the part-time workers, then this means that
there are about 1.2 million holdings and 1.2 million people at work on them. There
were 3 million people working on farms in France only ten years ago.
But there is a lot of variety in French farming. The broad figures given above
conceal this fact. And that is the heart of France's farm problem. Let's look at some
facts.

1. The notion of the French farmer as a tradition-bound peasant is a myth. He has

shown readiness to change and to modernize. And he has shown a tendency to
disappear at a rate unequalled in europe. France's grain and sugar beat farmers are
technically as efficient as their neighbours. Many farms are of a quite large size. 60
% of british farms have over 20 hectares. But so do 45% of French farms. Only 2025% of farms in Germany, Holland or Belgium have over 20 hectares. A much
smaller proportion of farms in Italy are that large.

2. The British often comlain that there are too many French farmers and that the
farms are too small. It may seem strange, but this is also true. For every 100
hectares of farmed land, France has four people at work. Britain has there people at
work for every 100 hectares. About a third of French farms are less than 10
hectares. This is less than half the size of the average British farm. The typical dairy
herd may have a dozen cows. In Britain,the typical herd has around 40 cows.

There is a special problem. Many French farms are relatively uneconomical. A third
of Frances farms provide only part-time work. They are simply too small. A person
can devide his or her time between farming and other tasks. Plows or tractor can
also be shared but they seldom ar. So people often do what machines should do. Or
sometimes expensice machines are not used very often. On a 10 hectares French
farm, the tractor is in use 500 hours a year. On a large one it is in use 1000 hours a
year.
There is another special problem. That is the Napoleonic laws of inheritance. A
French farmer cannot leave his farm to his favorite son. It must be split up or the
son must buy out this brothers and sister. There are special loans avaible to young
farmers, but it is still not easy to own a farm. Land costs nearly Fr20,000 a hectare.
( This is equal to $1,600 or about Rp2,656,00 an acre)
As a result of this, there are only a few rich farmers and many poor farmers. The
lowest 25% of French farms produce about 4% of total farm production. The highest
25% produce 60% of farm production.
Pertanyaan :
1. How much fertilizer does the French farmer use now compared to the amount
he used in 1950
2. How much wheat does the French farmer harvests now compared to 1950
3. How much milk does the French farmer get from his cow now compared to
1950
4. What has the French farmer made into a major crop
5. By what percentage does the number of French farmers decrease each year
6. How much farmer land does France have
7. How many farm holdings are there in France
8. What percentage of British farms are over 20 hectares
9. What percentage of French farms are over 20 hectares
10.In France, how many people work for every 100 hectares of farmed land
11.In Britain, how many people work for every 100 hectares of farmed land
12.What percentage of French farms are less than 100 hectares
13.How large is the typical French farm
14.How large is the typical dairy herd in France
15.How large is the typical dairy herd in Britain
16.How many hours a year is a tractor used on a 20 hectare French farm
17.How many hours a year is a tractor used on a large Frecnh farm
18.How much does land cost per hectare in France