February 7, 2024.- The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has today stressed that the Government listens, understands and solves the problems of farmers and ranchers, and has detailed that the measures put in place represent the greatest support to the sector in this century.
In a series of parliamentary responses at the Congress of Deputies’ session on monitoring the government, the minister recalled the support measures put in place by the government to deal with the difficulties arising from the drought and the war in Ukraine in the last two years, worth more than EUR 4 billion, of which EUR 1 400 million is direct aid.
The minister also referred to the effectiveness of measures such as the new food chain law, in force since December 2021, which prevents farmers and ranchers from selling for a price lower than production costs. He cited by way of example among the achievements of this law that the price of cow’s milk, which in January 2022 was 0.36 euros per litre, went from November 2023 to 0.51 euros, the maximum level in the European Union.
The maintenance of the refund of the special tax on hydrocarbons to agricultural diesel is yet another sign of this Government’s commitment to the agricultural sector and, precisely, it has recalled that its elimination in France has been one of the reasons for the dissatisfaction of the sector in the neighbouring country.
The minister acknowledged the difficulties of the moment and the challenge posed by the ecological transition, and called for dialogue and cooperation between the European Commission, the Government and the autonomous communities to achieve the objectives. The lines of this government are “dialogue, work and commitment to solve the problems,” he said.
The minister considered the decision announced yesterday by the President of the European Commission, Úrsula Von der Leyen, to withdraw the regulation on plant protection products that was rejected by the European Parliament, to open a process of dialogue in which the opinion of farmers is taken into account. He pointed out that the goal of reducing the most harmful elements by half is there and must be the big challenge.