Calls for the implementation of agricultural insurance at European level
September 8 () –
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has boasted that the proposals of the report ‘Strategic Dialogue on the Future of European Agriculture’, prepared by various experts in the field and commissioned by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which brings together recommendations on how to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2028-2035, are already being applied in Spain through the National Strategic Plan for the CAP, while calling for the implementation of agricultural insurance at European level.
“The document that was published this week says exactly what we have done in the Strategic Plan for Spain approved in 2021,” said the head of the department in an interview with Europa Press, going on to explain that direct aid is already distributed in Spain taking into account the income level of farmers rather than the surface area of the land.
In this regard, the minister has indicated that CAP funds in Spain are already allocated with a focus on the viability of the activity of the beneficiary farmers, “and in Europe it will be like this in the future; it must be the small and medium-sized farms that receive the aid, because they are the ones that need this supplement to achieve high profitability,” said Planas.
The Minister of Agriculture has expressed his “satisfaction” with the impact of the CAP in Spain, considering that it has been “very positive for the primary sector”. “We have also achieved measures such as the maximum limit of aid per declarant or support for small and medium-sized farmers, which has been a success,” he commented in this regard.
“The current CAP is being implemented well, but we need to start a dialogue so that, looking to the future and starting in 2027, we also have an interesting implementation model,” said the head of the Department.
On the other hand, as regards agricultural insurance, Planas has stressed that in Spain this must be “strengthened”, while calling for this measure to be applied at a European level, since the Spanish one “represents an excellent model and the best response in the European Union to the climate crisis to ensure the future of rural areas”.
GOOD FUNCTIONING OF THE SPANISH AGRO-FOOD SYSTEM
Planas also did not want to miss the opportunity to express his pride in the “good” functioning of the Spanish agri-food system. “I would even say that it is very good,” he stressed, also highlighting its “high quality.”
Thus, at the threshold of this new agricultural year, which officially begins on 29 September, Planas has recalled how closely linked the Ministry’s policies are to the EU.
“More than 90% of what we do in this Department has a direct or indirect relationship with Brussels,” he acknowledged, going on to stress that many of the problems and concerns that Spain faces in terms of agriculture are shared by the majority of its European partners.
“It is not a Spanish issue, it is a European issue,” stressed the Minister for Agriculture, which is reflected in the fact that, for example, “the President of the Commission herself has committed herself to presenting a document on the vision of food and agriculture for the future in the first 100 days of this legislature.”
The minister has acknowledged that “all this reflects a common concern about the future of food and agriculture in Spain and Europe”, in relation to which Spain must “contribute”, as it is a leader in agri-food production, being the fourth largest exporting country in the EU and the seventh in the world. “Logically, it has something to say, by carrying forward ideas that I believe are for the benefit of the food chain”, he reiterated.
The minister also stressed the need to promote sustainable production, although he did not forget that “for something to be sustainable, it must be profitable.”
BY THE END OF THE YEAR THE 43 MEASURES FOR THE COUNTRYSIDE WILL HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED
Along these lines, Planas has announced that of the 43 measures for the Spanish countryside that have “been effective and interesting” for the sector, more than two thirds are already completed or about to be completed, so that by the end of the year “they will have been implemented.”
These measures have been signed by Unión de Uniones and UPA, while Asaja and COAG have not signed them. On this point, he pointed out that he has always “listened to all the interlocutors”, highlighting the “importance of dialogue”.
STRESSES THE “IMPORTANCE” OF PERTE AGRO FOR THE SECTOR
On the other hand, Planas has described as “tremendously important” the call for proposals for the second Perte agroalimentario, which is endowed with 100 million euros and will be open from 19 September to 21 October, after the first call was covered with nearly 186 million in 250 projects.
“This Agri-Food Perte is extremely important and in this second call we wanted to expand the possibilities and make some of the conditions for presenting the projects more flexible in order to reach a greater number of recipients and ensure a good use of the funds,” he told Europa Press.
In this way, Planas has recalled that “digitalisation and sustainability” are the two central elements of this plan, which is combined with everything that the Spanish agri-food industry is doing, which “is tremendously positive”.
Regarding the Perte of the canning industry, published this week, the Minister of Fisheries welcomed its implementation, as it was “a personal commitment” that he made to the fishing processing sector.
“There were legal problems that took us almost a year to resolve. We have launched this Perte, with an initial allocation of 20 million, but this amount can be expanded,” he said.
The plan has already received “positive” reactions from the fishing sector, so Planas is confident that all the funds can be used up, which will be “very important” in boosting the national canning sector.
ADVOCATES CONSENSUS DESPITE POLITICAL NOISE
Looking ahead to the final months of the year and the legislative period, Planas stressed that the National Food Strategy will play a “fundamental role”, as he hopes it will become “a pillar for Spain and for Europe”.
The Department’s ‘roadmap’ includes the final approval of the Law on the Prevention of Food Loss and Waste during this period, as well as the launch of the Law on Family Farming at the beginning of next year, in addition to the Law on Fisheries Inspection and Control, which is currently in the process of public consultation and which it hopes to bring to the Council of Ministers at the end of the year or at the beginning of 2025.
Planas also reiterated the importance of dialogue and consensus in a context marked by “political noise.”
“This Ministry will always be listening and, of course, in contact, regardless of political colour, with all the autonomous communities, the departments of agriculture, livestock and fisheries.
“I hope that beyond the political noise we can reach, as we have done in the past, concrete agreements that will allow us to do positive work for the future,” he stressed.
Along these lines, the Minister of Agriculture has not hesitated to underline the importance that his Department will have in the coming months and years in the commitment to generational change, as well as gender equality, with a greater incorporation of women into the agricultural sector in order to guarantee the future of the countryside in Spain.
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