The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, defended this Thursday in El Ejido, Almería, the actions of the central government in the face of the difficulties that the agricultural sector is going through, especially due to the effects of climate change and the increase in energy and production costs.
During an event with socialist militants and sympathizers in the last days of election campaignthe socialist leader has vindicated the aid deployed by the Executive in Andalusia and has placed the countryside as one of the axes of the Government’s action.
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Take advantage of state investment in Andalusia
“I think there is an issue that is very important and that is how governments respond to the extraordinary situations that arise, such as those related to climate change or geopolitical and commercial problems in relation to diesel, fertilizers and their price increases,” said Planas.
The minister has also maintained that the Executive has reacted “immediately” to these situations and has estimated the aid allocated to Andalusia since June 2018 at 3.7 billion euros, excluding funds from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). “I say this with pride because the Popular Party, throughout Mariano Rajoy’s period, dedicated 0 euros beyond the CAP in Andalusia,” he stated.
Defends aid to the agricultural sector
It has also focused on measures aimed at alleviating the consequences of recent storms and the increase in costs for farmers and ranchers. In this sense, he explained that the Government has already started paying aid worth 970 million euros using the CAP records and has announced a second line of support “which is the one that is of most interest to this province, to Almería.”
As detailed, this item will reach “approximately 212 million and some 10,000 beneficiaries” and will be intended for producers who do not receive aid from the CAP, such as the fruit and vegetable sector.
Furthermore, he has advanced that there will be “a third relationship for the communities of goods” and has recalled the aid approved to compensate for the increase in the price of fertilizers and diesel. “877 million were voted in Congress without the support of the Popular Party or Vox,” he stressed.
In his speech, Planas linked the Government’s energy policy with the competitiveness of the agricultural sector. “What we have achieved in Spain in terms of energy and electricity prices is attracting investments, and that also applies to our irrigation, where 70% are energy costs,” he noted.
The minister has focused on the investments made in irrigation modernization and water management, especially sensitive issues in a province marked by water scarcity and high dependence on intensive agriculture, emphasizing that the Executive has allocated 544 million euros to irrigation modernization actions in Andalusia, of which 156 million correspond to the province of Almería and 61 million to the municipality of El Ejido.
Among the actions mentioned are the intervention in the Sapo pond, the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), a wastewater recycling center and actions in Tierras de Almería. “Water and workers are the fundamental issues,” summarized Planas, who has also defended the measures of labor regularization promoted by the Executive and which, as he said, “respond to what the farmers have asked of us.”