The hardest moment of farming

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The farmers of the islands have been living in an endless nightmare for months. The crisis caused by the increase in feed, transportation and electricity prices as a result of the war in Ukraine does not seem to be over and could wipe out the industry by the end of the year. Manufacturers on their toes, farms are not only profitable, but producers are sinking to protect them. The aid from the institutions covers the debts, but it does not solve the problem and the agreement made with the industrialists and supermarkets to pay more for milk is not fulfilled. Since May, a liter of cow’s milk has gone from 48 cents to 52 cents. That’s well below the production cost, which is currently around 63 cents..

At the beginning of May, at a meeting mediated by Prime Minister Ángel Víctor Torres, a gradual increase of 12 cents was agreed so that farmers could receive 60 cents instead of the 48 paid by April. And although the promises and good intentions were initially realized with a two cent rise, it did not go beyond that. In addition, the farmers have not heard from the Autonomous Administrator for two months, and this is accused of failing to comply with the Food Chain Act, which prevents any public from selling below what they pay. “They’ve been promising for months that they will activate mechanisms to control compliance with the norm, but these are all words that never make any sense,” complains Nicolás Pérez, director of the Gran Canaria Livestock Cooperative Association. in the foreground consulting “untrained” to manage the area. “There is time in La Mareta to visit Sánchez, but not to deal with the problems of the Islands”adds the owner of the farm.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has prepared an Action Program on Controlling the Food Chain in the Canary Islands to establish a regional control system to effectively monitor compliance, but the department headed by Alicia Vanoostende has clarified. They reported that the Canary Islands Enforcement Agency (AEC), which is responsible for the control of the law in the Canary Islands, is still awaiting the approval of the decree on the imposition of sanctions or the opening of the sanctioning procedure.

String value destruction is specified as a “serious” offense and Includes a fine of 3,001 euros to 100,000 euros. They assure the council that it will be in September when this requirement, which manufacturers dislike, will be met. “If everything starts to work out in September, there won’t be control until 2023, they give us a long time because the elections are close and expect us to withstand the storm,” says Pérez.

But the truth is that farmers don’t think they have a lot of time. “Between the end of the year, either real measures are taken and milk and meat rise, or the animals in the Canary Islands disappear,” says Pérez, reassuring that most farmers in Gran Canaria are considering closure.

Most live and resist day to day because, according to the farmer’s words, that’s all they have in this life. Data from the Gran Canaria abattoir still do not change much from last year, but figures recorded in cattle slaughter surveys published by the Government of the Canary Islands reflect a 36.33% increase in cattle slaughter in the first half of the year. Compared to 2019, which was referenced as the last year before the pandemic. Of the 4,839 heads cut, it reached 6,597 in three years.

As the Canary Islands Asaga Cattlemen’s Association explains, the increase is due to two factors. The re-evaluation of local meat over imported meat is a positive situation due to the price increase of the latter. Local meat has become more competitive. Negative is the increase in the cost of raw materials for food, which already exceeds it. 55%It has forced many dairy farmers to reduce the number of heads due to their inability to cover the expenses.

Farmers are dissatisfied with the help of the Special Procurement Regime (REA). According to him, the milk powder used in the production of yoghurt and cheese on the islands subsidizes and cheapens products from abroad, which the industry has to compete with, such as cheese and meat. “You can’t put pressure on imports while we’re dying here,” adds Pérez.

Although the complaints continued for months, the farmers did not dare to go out yet. They were about to arrive at the beginning of June, but the Canarian president managed to calm things down by announcing a round trip to department stores so they could cut profit margins in favor of farmers. It did not serve to solve the problem. Even so, farmers still trust that solutions will come after the politicians’ holidays. “We live by putting out fires day by day, but this cannot be sustained any longer”Perez is crying.

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