Luis Planas highlights that the new CAP grants for the first time a differentiated treatment to the Balearic Islands due to its insularity status

Balearic farmers face higher production costs than those of the peninsula and have more difficulties in accessing the markets to market their products

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, highlighted today that the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands has, for the first time, a differentiated treatment in the aid system of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to address the singularities of agricultural and livestock activity in this territory that, due to its insularity status, implies higher production costs.

The minister explained that the situation of insularity makes it difficult to access the markets, both for the acquisition of inputs and raw materials, which causes production costs higher than the peninsula, and for the marketing of its agri-food products. The productive structure of the Balearic Islands is characterized by small-scale farms.

The national strategic plan for the implementation of the CAP reform in Spain has comprehensively taken into account insularity for all its measures, with the creation of a specific and unique payment region for this autonomous community. The minister recalled that in the previous model there were 50 payment regions and none specific to the Balearic Islands, which does now have it, when the total number has been reduced to 20. And he explained that it is not only a payment region, but also means a support mechanism in the different aspects of the CAP. The minister stressed that agriculture in the Balearic Islands has a future.

Until now, the island’s peculiarity has only been taken into account to supplement the associated aid, but not for the basic payment system, which is the main bulk of direct payments (from this year formed by the basic income aid for sustainability and the complementary redistributive payment).

This specific consideration will result in Balearic farmers and livestock farmers seeing the basic income support of the CAP, including the redistributive payment, increased by 48% compared to the basic payment of the previous period. In addition, he explained that the implementation for the first time of the redistributive payment for support to small farmers has special relevance in the Balearic Islands, since its agrarian structure is characterized by very fragmented farms.

In 2021, 5,397 Balearic farmers and ranchers were entitled to CAP aid, which received a total of 30.4 million euros. The minister said that 99% of the beneficiaries will maintain or see an increase in the volume of their aid in the new period.

The minister has held a meeting today with the agricultural organizations of the Balearic Islands and has visited two very significant farms, the Cooperative of the Mallorcan Camp, the only second grade in the autonomous community, and the farm Es Bosc Vell, the main breeder and producer of Mallorcan porc negre, one of the four species of pork that has the recognition of autochthonous breed 100%. During the visit to the cooperative, the minister was accompanied by the regional president, Francina Armengol, and the councillor for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mae de la Concha, who also attended Es Bosc Vell.

About Camp Mallorquí, Planas has highlighted that it is an example of good work of the cooperative sector, because in a territory with such atomized farms it groups 14 cooperatives with more than 2,550 members that also involves the integration of several productive sectors such as almond, carob, cereals or olive oil. The minister stressed the importance of the Balearic Islands having 20 products with a recognized seal of quality, between Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications, since in a land where the productions are not quantitatively very relevant, quality and differentiation allow to generate value and guarantee profitability.