Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, is set to urge the autonomous communities to present a united front in addressing the concerns raised by farmers and livestock producers, who are entering the third week of road and city protests. In a briefing before a meeting of the Agricultural Policy Consultative Council, Planas will call on regional governments to strengthen inspections under the food chain law to ensure producers are not selling at a loss, that is, below production costs. He noted that some regions are already taking these steps, while others are doing less, and he will emphasize this disparity during the gathering.
In the same gathering, Planas will outline the department’s proposals ahead of the Council of Ministers that will be held in Brussels the following Monday with EU Agriculture Ministers. He will also seek explicit support for the implementation of the 18 measures from the emergency plan announced last Friday to the major farming organizations Asaja, COAG and UPA. As an illustration, Planas cited that it is within the competencies of the autonomous communities to coordinate actions so that a single inspection is conducted per year on a farm. He added that work could proceed on other issues, such as the timetable for various aid calls or programs, for example those aimed at young people entering farming, to provide certainty and security for those joining the sector.
He will also request that the communities back training and advisory services for producers about the voluntary adoption of the digital field notebook. Additionally, he will urge them to increase their contributions to the agricultural insurance system, which producers say needs reform to better cope with climate change. The central government currently contributes 284.5 million euros to premium subsidies, ranging from 30% to 40%, but some regions barely reach 3%, Planas pointed out.