MADRID Nov. 1 () –
The Court of Auditors has urged the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to provide more staff and renew the technical means of the laboratories that are responsible for carrying out the official analytical control of agri-food products in compliance with community and national regulations, after verifying that 19% of the staff are missing from these and 63% of the equipment is more than ten years old.
It is the main conclusion that the organization has reached in its inspection report of Program 413A “Competitiveness of the agri-food industry and food quality”, in the years 2021 and 2022.
The organization has analyzed the design, management and fulfillment of the objectives of the program, whose objective is to turn Spain into a global food benchmark, promoting an industry model based on sustainability in its triple economic, social and environmental dimension.
With regard to the design of the program, the audit report concludes that its name is “obsolete” and “does not correspond to its objectives”, currently aimed at sustainability and food quality, as the weight of the actions to promote competitiveness to other programs of the department led by Luis Planas.
Also exposed, says the report, is the lack in this ministry of a strategic framework regarding food, which has motivated a recommendation from this Court.
DEFICIENCIES IN ADMINISTRATION
In the area of program management, the report focuses on the deficiencies detected in the administration of agri-food laboratories, which provide an official food control service in coordination with the laboratories of the autonomous communities.
The report observes that the majority of its services are provided free of charge to the autonomous communities without the coverage of agreements, and in services to private entities, “outdated” prices are applied that barely represent 1% of the estimated operating cost necessary for the provision. of the service.
On the other hand, the Court reflects deficiencies in the programming design, since there are no result indicators that allow us to conclude the effectiveness of the program. However, the institution, through alternative measurements, positively values the dialogue between the General Directorate of Food, the agri-food sector and the EU and the good coordination in the food quality controls of the autonomous communities.
On the contrary, the actions aimed at ensuring that the agri-food industry assumes the Code of Good Business Practices provided for in the Food Chain Law are pointed out as ineffective. Nor are the aid intended for cooperatives to group together beyond their autonomous communities following the EU recommendations, the document says, effective.
ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS ARE EFFECTIVE
The report concludes that the results of the program are positive in several lines of action, highlighting the effectiveness of food advertising campaigns, the growth of organic food production and the reduction of food waste.
However, it also warns that the distribution of program expenses is not aligned with the change in the model in food production. Thus, 56% of the financial resources are allocated to the objective of food promotion and only 2% to support organic production, differentiated quality indications and the reduction of food waste, these being the basic axes in the model. food promoted by the EU.
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