Dozón, September 13, 2024.- The subdelegate of the Government in Pontevedra, Abel Losada, demanded this morning in Dozón that the Xunta de Galicia take urgent measures and side with the farmers “as the Government of Spain is doing” in the face of the incidence of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHE) of beef cattle, which is hitting the cattle herd of regions such as Deza, the focus of the disease along with five other areas of the province, in which producers are suffering very important losses.
“While the Government of Spain finalizes a Royal Decree with 15 million euros to be transferred to the Autonomous Communities with which to cover the losses of farmers and has already brought the vaccine closer, we see how the Ministry of Rural Environment is not and is not expected, despite having the competences in livestock,” lamented Losada. For the subdelegate this is “a déjà vu”, because how it happens every time there is a crisis in the primary sector, the Rueda government remains seated and waiting for the problem to be solved alone”. In contrast to the “abandonment to what the Xunta submits to farmers,” he added, “we have a Ministry of Agriculture led by Minister Luis Planas that set in motion the administrative machinery to provide solutions backed by a significant economic amount.”
In this line, he stressed that the Royal Decree, which will be approved in the coming days, will include a very important economic item that will be transferred to Galicia to boost aid to farmers, which will be compatible with those provided by the regional, European and local administrations. They will be retroactive and must be aimed at mitigating the economic effects that the EHE is causing in the livestock sector. The Autonomous Communities will be responsible for summoning and distributing the aid financed by the Ministry, but the Government of Spain is demanding that it be supplemented with its own funds.
On the other hand, Losada recalled that the only aid published in January 2024 by the Xunta, is applied only in case the animal dies, but does not take into account health expenses, nor productivity losses, in addition to having a very low compensation scale, compared to that established by other communities.” During the visit to the Vázquez Livestock Company S.C, where the subdelegate checked the effects of the EHE on the livestock, he demanded from the Galician government “at least the same commitment, also in economic terms, as what was acquired by the Ministry of Agriculture to support the sector against this disease.”
“While the Government of Spain is working, we do not know what the Ministry is waiting for to side with the farmers and boost their aid; do not leave the sector any longer in the face of the economic losses caused by the EHE,” he said. Losada explained that the evolution of the disease since 2022, the date of its beginning in Spain, is being predictable, so the Autonomous Communities can take the measures they consider appropriate in terms of prevention or financial aid for medicines or treatments “but the Xunta did nothing”. He stressed, in this regard, the commitment of the Ministry to provide a vaccine, which is already the willingness of the communities.
In addition, the MAPA is assessing the restriction of livestock movement between communities and including the EHE within the coverage of the ENESA agricultural insurance. Finally, the subdelegate made it clear that the livestock sector is “a strategic sector, not only in the economic aspect, but also in the role it plays to structure and preserve the territory and the rural world, so we must bet on sustainable and quality livestock, such as the exploitation that we visit today in Dozón”.
More than 20 infected animals
Ganadería Vázquez SC, situada en la parroquia de Saa, es una ganadería de carne de referencia en la comarca del Deza. Owned by #Luís Vázquez and his daughter, Raquel Vázquez, who at the age of 18 comes from joining the exploitation, it has about 260 heads in extensive of different races. In recent weeks, more than 20 animals have been infected by EHE. Both Raquel and Luis Vázquez explained the difficulties and losses that this pathology entails, because in addition to the veterinary costs of the treatments, the animals greatly reduce their productivity and end up losing their offspring.