The drought that Spain is suffering, and which is affecting the countryside and the price of food, forces the central government to mobilize. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is already coordinating a new package of economic measures to support the sector with the aim of mitigating the effects that the lack of rain is causing to agricultural and livestock production. The weather situation, as explained yesterday by the department of Luis Planas in a meeting of the drought table, is "serious, widespread and urgent".
The aid will arrive in the form of a decree, Agriculture indicated, and they will try to speed it up "as much as possible". The measures being studied include direct transfers to those affected by the situation, tax exemptions in some rates or other measures to compensate for the losses that agricultural professionals are already suffering.
The Minister for Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Teresa Jordà, was one of the participants in the meeting with the Government that was held at the Ministry of Agriculture and, at the end of the meeting, demanded that this rule be approved as soon as possible by the Council of Ministers.
Although the drought is widespread, the most affected areas at the moment are the interior of Catalonia, where there are more than 70,000 hectares of fruit trees, and the Guadalquivir, Guadiana and Segura basins, as detailed by the ministry. The forecasts, moreover, are not optimistic. At the same meeting, the state meteorology agency (Aemet) reported that the average value of accumulated precipitation since the beginning of the hydrological year, which began on October 1, 2022, is 23 .5% lower than the normal figure. For the next 15 days, moreover, no rain is expected and, although it is still early, the summer could be one of the driest in recent years.
The drought is already significantly affecting livestock, explained the department led by Planas, particularly the extensive one, and beekeeping. There is also cataloged affectation in the herbaceous crops of the areas most affected by the water deficit in the aforementioned basins. Pedro Barato, president of the agricultural organization Asaja, pointed out yesterday that the most critical crops are, at the moment, rainfed cereals and woody crops, that is to say, olive, pistachio, almond and orange trees , others.
The professionals summoned yesterday to the headquarters of Agriculture demanded from the Central Government that this new decree provides for direct aid to the companies and self-employed affected, as well as exemptions in the payment of taxes. They also asked that the appraisals of agricultural insurance can be expedited so that farms are not paralyzed. Barato, for his part, asked that European funds be reorganized to increase the mobilization of community aid in the affected sectors.
The Undersecretary of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Ernesto Abati, announced yesterday to farmers and ranchers that Minister Planas will also send a letter to the European Commission to consider all measures of flexibility or of an exceptional nature in the application of the rules of the common agricultural policy (CAP) due to the special difficulties experienced by Spanish crops as a result of the drought. The aim is that professionals do not see the aid at risk.
The last meeting of the drought table was on March 4, 2022. 11 days later, the Government approved a decree with the first measures to support the agricultural sector in the fiscal, labor, financial and hydraulic fields, which involved six ministries.
