Hours before the monograph on the situation of agriculture begins in Parliament, the Government has assured that 64% of the commitments acquired on February 14, in the midst of farmers’ protests, have been executed or guaranteed, and that they directly depended of the Generalitat. These are adjustments that have been incorporated into the Drought Plan agreed upon with farmers. According to the Government, they were agreed with the objective that the primary sector can “earn a decent living.”
It was the Minister of Climate Action, David Mascort, who reported on the analysis at the Executive Council meeting this morning. The Government spokesperson, Patricia Plaja, detailed in a press conference that contacts with the sector “have been permanent” since the beginning of February. There have been six meetings, in which the specific demands of farmers have been put on the table. According to the Catalan Executive, this 64% translates into nine agreements out of the fourteen that are the responsibility of the Generalitat.
Plaja has also highlighted that it has been agreed to allocate nearly 10 million euros to expand the ICF Agroliquiditat loan line, financing designed to address the increase in the price of raw materials and fuels and the consequences of climate change. In the first tranche of this aid, when it was launched, the Generalitat awarded 1,300 loans for an amount of 80 million euros through this mechanism.
In any case, with these nine commitments that it assures are fulfilled, the Government affirms that the survival of animals is guaranteed for farms that are not fattening, such as dairy farms, so “no farm of this type will have have to sacrifice animals due to lack of water availability.
Likewise, the Government asserts that the survival of woody and permanent crops has been guaranteed, and emphasizes that with regard to the intention to streamline procedures and reduce bureaucracy, the Catalan Executive has demanded that the Ministry of Agriculture not apply it until It will not be mandatory in 2026.
Pjaja wanted to make it clear that the Government of Aragonès is “its ally by obligation and by conviction” and has highlighted that they intend to lead the conversations with the State, which is the one that has powers, for example, in establishing prices and relations with Europe.
Furthermore, he highlighted that the monographic plenary session of the Parliament of Catalonia is being reached with a “new work space” with agricultural organizations with the aim of bringing together, he said, of uniting all the voices of the peasantry.
One of the measures yet to be applied is the change of name of the Department of Climate Action so that it incorporates “Agriculture, Agriculture and Fishing”. Plaja has stressed that it is underway, but that it requires a procedure that must be completed.
