France has announced a one-billion-euro (approximately 1.16 billion dollar) emergency aid package for farmers devastated by the country's hottest summer on record, with crop yields down by as much as eighty per cent for fruit and vegetables.
France's main farming unions have immediately rejected the package as inadequate, with the FNSEA saying losses stand at ten billion euros and farmers need at least double what has been offered.
Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard outlined the measures at the Agriculture Ministry in Paris, including rapid direct payments and extended subsidies.
Ross Cullen reports from Paris.
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Ross Cullen, reporting from Paris, says the record heat has forced livestock farmers to use winter feed months early, raising fears of a knock-on crisis later in the year.
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Ross Cullen in Paris says farmers face a range of interconnected problems, from drought-hit irrigation to depleted rivers and scorched pastures.
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