The delegate of the Government of Spain in Castilla-La Mancha, Milagros Tolón, participated on Wednesday in the Assembly of ASAJA Toledo, where she reiterated the commitment of the Government of Spain to the countryside of Castilla-La Mancha, “a key sector for the development of the economy of our region”.
Milagros Tolón has thanked ASAJA Toledo and its president, Blanca Corroto, for the invitation to participate in its assembly in a year marked in recent months by the “legitimate and justified” demands of the agricultural and livestock organizations of Spain, which have had their reflection in Castilla-la Mancha and the province of Toledo.
For the government delegate, these protests “have placed in the public debate the situation that the countryside is going through, its needs and the importance it has in the daily lives of people, whether they live in the countryside, in small cities or in large capitals.”
They have also shown that the countryside, its activity and its industry “is essential in the economic development of our country and our region and the defense of their interests is fundamental for the well-being” of the people who live and work in Castilla-La Mancha.
In this context, “ASAJA has shown firmness and forcefulness in the defense of the rights and interests of the men and women of the countryside, leadership capacity in the mobilization and willingness to dialogue to advance in the resolution of conflicts.”
For all these reasons, “ASAJA and its leaders, like Blanca Corroto, are reliable interlocutors to address the challenges facing the livestock and agriculture sector, which are the challenges we share as a society in Castilla-La Mancha and throughout Spain”.
Government of Spain measures
Milagros Tolón has pointed out that the Government of Spain “is sensitive to the demands of the countryside and is committed to solving its problems”. This support has resulted in aid amounting to more than EUR 4 billion in fiscal and labour measures; EUR 1.38 billion in aid to compensate for the effects of the war in Ukraine and the drought, or in the insurance system, which in 2023 recorded record indemnities of EUR 1.24 billion.
Regarding Castilla-La Mancha, he said that he received EUR 460 million in direct aid from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2023, and more than 33,000 farmers have benefited from the EUR 72 million intended to offset the consequences of the drought and war in Ukraine.
In addition, “this same week 50 million have been approved in Castilla-La Mancha for programs to support the wine sector and promote the consumption of milk, fruits and vegetables” and recently more than 12 million have been approved of the Special Plan of Employment in Depressed Rural Areas for the hiring of more than 2,200 unemployed people. Of all of them, 383 in the province of Toledo with a budget greater than 2 million euros.
Rural living environment
On the other hand, the new European Parliament “must address a new social contract between the rural environment and society, which is the result of open dialogue between agricultural organizations, cooperatives and all European institutions”, said the delegate of the Government, who has opted for “a living rural environment so that agriculture has a future and overcome the worrying asymmetry between the urban and rural environment”.
Along with this, the compatibility of sustainable development with the growth of the rural environment and a sufficient allocation for the CAP as a necessary tool to support the income of farmers and ranchers “are challenges that must also be faced in the new cycle of the European Union”, said the delegate.
The event was also attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Sustainable Development, Julián Martínez; the regional secretary of ASAJA Castilla-La Mancha, José María Fresneda; Elías Lorenzo, representing Unicaja, and Alberto Marcilla, from Globalcaja.