France - Agriculture



France Agriculture 1112
Photo by: Andreas Karelias

Agriculture remains a vital sector of the French economy, even though it engages only about 4% of the labor force and contributes about 3% of the GDP. Since the early 1970s, the agricultural labor force has diminished by about 60%. France, whose farms export more agricultural food products than any other EU nation (accounting for 22% of the EU's total agricultural output), is the only country in Europe to be completely self-sufficient in basic food production; moreover, the high quality of the nation's agricultural products contributes to the excellence of its famous cuisine. France is one of the leaders in Europe in the value of agricultural exports—chiefly wheat, sugar, wine, and beef. Tropical commodities, cotton, tobacco, and vegetable oils are among the chief agricultural imports.

As of 1998 35% of France's area was arable. About 11.8 million ha (29.1 million acres) of the usable farm area is under annual crops, with another 228,000 ha (563,000 acres) in permanent crops. There were 735,000 farms in France in 1995, of which only 454,000 were managed by full-time farmers. Since the 1950s, the number of farms has declined and the size of individual holdings has increased. By 1983 there were about 1.13 million farms, as compared to 2.3 million in 1955, and the average farm size was about 26 hectares (64 acres). Average farm size had grown to around 50 ha (124 acres) in 2000. Because French law provides for equal rights of inheritance, traditionally much of the farmland came to be split up into small, scattered fragments. One of the major aims of postwar plans for rural improvement has been the consolidation of these through reallotment. Such consolidation also fosters the growth of mechanization. In 1998 there were 1,270,000 tractors (fourth in the world after the United States, Japan, and Italy) compared with 100,000 in 1948, and 1,327,900 in 1974.

Of the total productive agricultural area, about 61% is under cultivation, 35% is pasture, and 4% vineyards. The most productive farms are in northern France, but specialized areas, such as the vegetable farms of Brittany, the great commercial vineyards of the Languedoc, Burgundy, and Bordeaux districts, and the flower gardens, olive groves, and orchards of Provence, also contribute heavily to the farm economy.

Among agricultural products, cereals (wheat, barley, oats, corn, and sorghum), industrial crops (sugar beets, flax), root crops (potatoes), and wine are by far the most important. In 1999, the wheat crop totaled 37,009,000 tons and barley, 9,548,000 tons. Other totals (in tons) included oats, 550,000; corn, 15,628,000; sugar beets, 32,776,000; rapeseed, 4,469,000 tons; and sunflower seed, 1,871,000 tons. Wine production in 1999 totaling 6,625,000 tons from 8,001,000 tons of grapes. There is large-scale production of fruits, chiefly apples, pears, peaches, and cherries.

User Contributions:

1
Nikki
Thanks for the help. I am doing a report on English for the 6th grade. Thanks!
2
Nikki
I forgot to include that I am doing a report on france
3
Tawney
Thanks for making this good site. I'm doing a report on France and its agriculture for ag. This helped me a bunch!! Thanks =]
4
georgie
thanx im doing a project on france that helped alot!!!!!
5
Madeleine
Thank you for this infomation it will help me do my asignment on France.
6
Khaled
Thanks for the info cuz I was in a really tight spot and needed it for a summative. But as a suggestion you should include if the agricultural products have an absolute or competitive advantage.
7
Kyle
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8
james hall
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9
Nikkie
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10
gogo
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Thnx
11
jessica
thanx doin a assignment in class which really helped alot this ection anyway
12
alexsis
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13
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14
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15
hi
thanx for everything .I'm doing a project on france
16
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17
Stacey
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18
MJB
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19
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20
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thats good site for agriculture im doing a project on france and its agriculture.
21
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i find this case study very educating and intresting about France, actualy,i have never being to France, but with these article i can say little about these country.
Am a 2 year student in International Business,in Insitute of Technology Carlow in Republic of Ireland,am writing a team project in Economic about France i think this will be of great benefit to me.
22
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23
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24
ally
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25
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26
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27
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28
Jackie
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im in 9th in general all the info here was helpfull. i just couldnt find when this information was last updated so just a suggestion you should put up
29
MAYA
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30
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I'm sure i'll get an A+ :D
31
unkown
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32
marley
Thanks for trying to help. You didn't really say what I needed, but I can find it on another site. I am doing a project for 7th grade Social Studies to try and figure out of France is a developed or a developing country. Thanks for trying to help!
33
Jill
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34
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Thanks for the help. I am doing a report on English for the 6th grade. Thanks
thanks for your help.im doing a report on france for a gr. 6 project. tHaNkS
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Im doing my world geography project on france and this is a huge help:)
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39
dont need to know
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helped alot! great information! doing something for geography on france & italy :)
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thank you so much im doing a report on france! 6th grade geography
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45
S.Heck
could you possibly go into more detail about the regions in which these crops are produced? it would be super helpful!
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47
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48
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51
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52
jackie
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Thank you so much for this info! I'm doing a report on France in French class and I couldn't find any information. anyway, Thanks again and i will recommend this site to anyone in need of good info!!!
thanks u just saved me alot of reaserch on my franch project thats due in 2 days
What were the initial crops of France. I am researching what the origins of French Cooking consisted of in History.
56
Joann
I recently took a trip to France and noticed there were no screens on the windows like in the US. The strangest thing is I did not see any flys in the open restaurants or markets. This was in May. Why?
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58
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59
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60
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61
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62
Ruu
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63
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64
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65
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66
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67
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68
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69
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70
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71
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72
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73
Sam
I need your help.I am to list agricultural products in french.Its an assignment.Thanks
74
Grantio
Can you please explain more about how the economy is effected and the climates effects
75
Melissa
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76
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77
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78
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79
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80
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81
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82
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83
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84
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85
abi
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86
Jordan Grey
I am currently doing a Gastronomy Unit for college and this has helped me. Very Useful! Thanks.
Thanks for the help. I am doing a report on English for the 12th grade. Thanks!
88
bran
I forgot to include that I am doing a report on france
89
jimmy
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90
Jayant
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91
Ciaran
Thank you so much I am doing a project and I am sick so I am doing it at home for my friends
92
kyle
Do you happen to know the type of crops primarily grown in southern france?
93
Emma
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94
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95
Anonymous Student
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96
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97
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98
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99
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100
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101
David
Thanks for the help. I am doing a report on English for the 9th grade. Thanks
102
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Thanks this site was useful for my 7th-grade project on 3 different countries.
103
kate
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104
Thomas
WOW, this really helped. I am doin a report on French stuff in my Gr.11 Food and Culture class

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