ASAJA Alicante asked the Minister of Agriculture, Miguel Barrachinameasures to ensure the profitability of the campaigns and a change in policy of the previous regional government with Xylella, focused on the felling of trees.
Similarly, he stated: “power when it comes to defending the primary sector of Alicante, which has been hit hard not only by the drought, but also by the serious problem of low prices at origin and unfair competition from third countries,” a statement said.
A member of the Ministry of Agriculture team, the president of the agricultural association, Jose Vicente Andreuaccompanied by the technical secretary, Ramon Espinosaas well as the board of directors and the heads of the various sectors, who are waiting for concrete facts.
The entity considers that the Council must take a step forward and carry out a strategy in the matter food safety And trade agreements fair with third countries, hand in hand between Brussels and the producers of the Valencian Community, who are those who “really” know the sector. “This determined defense must be taken into account by each farmer, for example when he demands a more rigorous phytosanitary control at customs,” they stressed.
“Mismanagement” of the previous regional government
“Xylella Fastiodiosa is a disease that, due to its disastrous eradication strategy, has had very serious consequences in the affected regions. The failed management of Botany based on massive logging “Not only has this not stopped the disease, but it has left thousands of farmers without their main economic activity, in addition to creating a desolate landscape in the Alicante mountains,” Asaja reported.
In this sense, they expect “a turnaround after so many years of demands” and wonder whether the current team of the Ministry will continue with this same strategy or, on the contrary, will have “the courage to analyze and work on other avenues”, such as confinement. They also demand the payment of compensation and the updating of scales.
In addition, ASAJA Alicante wanted to know what work will be carried out to promote the Valencian Food Information and Control Agency (AVICA) and proposed to the Ministry to prepare a study of costs production with an observatory that sets minimums to avoid selling at a loss. “We need your support to increase controls, especially in the case of citrus fruits, where real abuses are committed against the producer,” they assured.
Regarding the impact of the drought on cereal crops, muscat, cherries and, in general, on arid lands, with a serious threat of disappearance, they want to know what aid will be implemented after the data provided, and what the deadlines will be.
Insurance and generational change
Another requirement was a structural improvement of the line of aid for the first installation of young farmers and that of the modernization of agricultural holdings. “It is necessary to establish a precise periodicity, that they are published every year on the same dates and that 100% of the applications that meet the requirements are approved,” they indicated.
In the case of the agricultural insuranceIt is urgent to restore the coverage that has been removed (extension of guarantees on all citrus fruits and wind damage on lemons), especially at a critical time for this crop, after a ruinous campaign for farmers in the Vega Baja. This section remains the responsibility of the State, but the sector is seeking regional support to assert its claims.
Regarding the authorization to burn rice straw announced a few days ago, ASAJA Alicante demands that the Rice producers of Alicante from the Marjal Pego-Oliva area in the debates or possible decisions concerning this crop.
Regarding water, ASAJA Alicante considers it a good decision to incorporate it into the Agriculture and Livestock portfolio and type THE defense of the transfer Tajo Segura as an essential infrastructure, just as our association considers and defends it. However, in terms of water, there is still much to be done, “we do not understand why, for example, most of the water from the Torrevieja desalination plant goes to Murcia, even though it is an alternative to transfer and not the solution”.
Barrachina: “Government attacks and cuts in transfers”
For his part, the Minister of Agriculture, Water, Livestock and Fisheries, Miguel Barrachina, pledged to continue defending until the last consequences “the maintenance of the Tajo-Segura transfer because it is a moral obligation that we have in the face of serious attacks And cuts that the Spanish government generates.
He spoke in these terms after holding this meeting with the representatives of Asaja-Alicante, in which the general director of waters also participated, Sabine Goretti Galindo, and in which they reviewed the current situation.
In addition, he regretted the erratic position of the Spanish government “of sitting down to discuss and modify the rules of exploitation of the transfer” and demanded “a National Water Pact that does not condemn irrigators and farmers.”
Barrachina recalled that “this year there are about 66 millionthrough different aid orders for the primary sector” and deplored “the hostility of the Spanish government, which decrees drought, restrictions on irrigation, but does nothing, invests or helps.”
In this sense, he recalled that his department is making investments of 8.8 million euros in aid for the rational use of irrigation water, to which he added 5 million for improving the competitiveness of livestock farming, 1.5 million in collective improvement plans, 35 million in agricultural insurance, 1.3 million in cooperative integration projects, 4 for the improvement of rural roads: 1 million in aid for ecological certification, 1.9 million in aid for nurseries or 2 million for the distillation of wine by-products, among others.
After the meeting, the minister reiterated his request that the meeting be convened Painting of the Drought and criticized the inaction of the government of the nation, which “refuses the water of the transfer for irrigation, does not realize the investment of 350 million euros to have more water reused and refuses to repair the San Diego reservoir, even though the Valencian Community is the region in Europe that reuses the most water.
Barrachina regretted losses for the droughtwhich already exceed 118 million euros, with particular severity on the south coast of Valencia and the north of Alicante, where it rained 75% less than the average, with crops particularly affected such as olive groves, wine grapes, almond trees or cherry trees.
