Chelo Aznar, a 51-year-old farmer from Fuendejalón (Zaragoza), has spent half her life dedicating herself to the countryside. She and her husband, Alberto, grow grapes, olives, almonds and cereals on their more than 40 hectares, and they also work third-party land with their machinery. Small and small, she says that she brings the rural world to life, but that the avalanche of paperwork and the lack of profitability is affecting them. "There's a lot of talk about empty Spain, but those who fill it are kicking us out", he laments.
Their complaints are reminiscent of those that reverberate these days from all corners of Spain. In concentrations and tractor-trailers, the primary sector points to excessive bureaucracy as one of its greatest evils, at the same time as rising costs, new environmental requirements or "unfair" competition from non-EU countries. "We are not managers, we are farmers", reads more than one banner above the tractors. Chelo couldn't agree more.
"For anything you want to do, you need applications, authorizations and permits, all with the corresponding fee", he assures Zaragoza, where he also chairs the Federation of Women and Families of the Rural Area (Amfar). "So much paperwork robs us of strength, time and motivation to move forward. One day they will ask us for a form to enter our farms!", he adds.
Bureaucracy has always been part of their routine. However, he remembers that when it started at the end of the last century it was more bearable: less management and a more personalized treatment, usually through the Regional Agro-Environmental Offices (OCA). "They guided you and solved things on the spot," he explains. But over the years, the volume of paperwork has grown and the procedures are often online, which makes it difficult to manage. "A small incident can throw everything back," he explains.
The farmers point to Brussels and its common agricultural policy (CAP) as the architects of the increase in the bureaucratic burden and the issuance of a series of directives that reduce the productivity of their farms. But the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the regional departments are not spared either. Just a year ago, farmers and ranchers filled the entrance of the territorial services of the Department of Climate Action in Lleida with shredded paper to denounce the excess of paperwork, a situation then aggravated by the obligation to present the annual declaration of hazardous waste. They considered that they did not have to do this management because the administration already had this information. "We must dedicate ourselves to taking care of the animals and not spending so much time with the procedures", asked the head of the pork sector of the Union of Farmers, Rossend Saltiveri.
In the current protests, many criticisms focus on the obligation to use the Quadern Digital, a kind of record of telematic activity. The farmer must record all his tasks: what he sows, in which plot, the fertilizer he uses, the amount, if he uses phytosanitary products, etc. Whoever can or can water will also have to specify it. Nor are livestock farmers spared, who must detail where their animals graze or when they move. Chelo says that they used to do it too, but manually and without such tight deadlines as now, of only one month. "It's very good that there is control, especially with food, but this extreme control is driving us crazy," he says.
She estimates that she can spend an average of one hour a day on these administrative tasks. More at specific moments like the harvest. By putting in the time and desire, he says he does well with digital certificates, scanning and attaching documents or sending geolocated photos through an administration application, as they are asked for many procedures. However, this is not the case for all farmers, especially the older ones, who in many cases do not have the technological means or the skills to get away with these tasks. "They are sick of asking for favors, it makes them lose their desire for everything", he says.
For this reason, among criticisms of bureaucrats who legislate on the field from an office and politicians who now want to hang medals with the mobilizations, Chelo asks the administration to listen to them and attend to their demands. Their wish list includes fairer prices, requiring the same standards for imported products and reducing procedures, with a single window and more personalized attention. "In short, make our lives easier. Without the primary sector, the countryside dies."
the bureaucracy
