Farmers in southwest France express growing concern over the ongoing heatwave

At Nicole Leroux's vegetable farm in the southwestern French village of Cendrieux, the 35 employees only harvest strawberries in the morning, from 7 am to 1 pm. "The thermometer hit 40°C on Monday, August 11, and the weather forecast calls for temperatures between 35°C and 38°C for about two weeks," Leroux said. She has tried to minimize the impact of the intense heatwave on the plants by "ventilating the greenhouses as much as possible and putting sun protection nets on the roofs."

The same restricted morning hours apply to the tomato greenhouses of Frédéric Marchesin, a producer in the village of Puch-d'Agenais, further south. He explained that working conditions improve when the greenhouses are larger and taller, with a greater air volume. This design also benefits the plants during a heatwave. However, the price difference for such structures is significant and affects the profitability of farms. Moreover, according to Marchesin, "foreign competition penalizes tomato producers' economic activity even more than the heat."

For several days, farmers across southwest France have anxiously watched the thermometer, hoping the extreme heat of August will not last. "I'm terrified of an irrigation failure and the plants not getting enough water. The trees are under water stress," said Daniel Sauvaitre, an orchardist and winegrower in Reignac. In his irrigated apple orchard, the first pickers were hard at work. The apple harvest had begun in France, starting with the reine des reinettes and gala