Spain: Minister of Agriculture Planas presents measures to tackle the agricultural crisis
After more than two months of protests, the Minister of Agriculture has presented a package of 43 measures to address the main concerns of the sector. The minister explained that these measures - grouped into seven areas - respond to the concerns put on the table at the various meetings he has held with the three agricultural organisations representing the sector, the Agricultural Association of Young Farmers (Asaja), the Coordinator of Farmers' and Stockbreeders' Organisations (COAG) and the Union of Small Farmers (UPA).
43 measures to tackle the agricultural crisis
The package - grouped into seven areas - presented byMr Planas contains measures about simplifying and making the CAP more flexible; issues relating to cross-border trade in agri-food products; reinforcing the application of the chain law; improving the agricultural insurance system; tax, financing and labour measures; support for animal health and extensive stockbreeding; and reinforcing policies to facilitate generational change in coordination with the regional governments. Those relating to the CAP were presented to the European Commission and approved at the last Council of Agricultural Ministers on the 26th of March. The initiatives must now be ratified by the European Parliament.
Mr. Planas also announced that he would continue to look for ways to implement mirror clauses for products from third countries. To this end, he believes it is necessary to set up a permanent working group to monitor imports and exports, with border controls and a particular focus on maximum residue limits. The minister believes he is "closer than ever" to a consensus among a majority of member states.
The minister recalled that the proposals come on top of the largest amount of state aid ever approved for the agricultural sector in Spain outside the CAP. Nearly € 1.4 billion in direct aid has been granted over the last two years.
Farmers’ reactions
Initial reactions from the three main national organisations, Asaja, COAG and UPA, have been positive, considering that there is a sufficiently solid basis for an agreement, although some measures will have to be negotiated with regional governments.
UPA signed the plan first because, according to its secretary general, Lorenzo Ramos, "all the problems and bureaucracy have been resolved and the CAP has been considerably simplified in the areas we have requested". At the end of the signing ceremony, Ramos declared that "the time for protests is over" and that the farmers must now "return to the fields to get the best possible harvest". Thanks to the abundant Easter rains, Ramos said, "irrigation and rainfed agriculture, as well as livestock, have been able to solve some of their problems".
Unión de Uniones de Agricultores y Ganaderos (Unión de Uniones), a COAG splinter group that has been highly visible during the protests, also signed the package, although it had not been yet accepted as an official representative of farmers with the capacity to negotiate with the minister.
Breached unity among farmers
While it is clear that the ministry's 43 measures include most of the demands of the major farmers' organisations, the organisations Asaja and COAG haven’t signed the package yet. Both organisations deem the proposal document from the Ministry of Agriculture insufficient. COAG General Secretary says that "the minister's actions in recent days (the hasty presentation of the package) have led to a loss of confidence by failing to respect the decision-making processes of each organisation". Asaja on their hand regrets that some of the measures "arrive late" and after the planning and planting by farm owners.
The four farmers’ organisations had acted together in the demonstrations of the last two months. As it now seems the proposed package brought an end to that unity, which maybe could be explained by the different background and political ties of the organisation. UPA (80.000 members) is the traditionally more left wing organisation, linked with the workers union UGT and the PSOE party of minister Planas. While the Asaja (200.000 members) and COAG (150.00 members) are traditionally linked to PP the major opposition party of the current socialist-led coalition government. Another very valuable argument is that the reduction of administrative burden as presented in the proposal contains many benefits for smallholder farmers and therefore could have appealed more to UPA a union of smallholder farmers. Rumors said that Unión of Uniones has accepted the government's measures in return for Planas recognising it on an equal footing with the other three leading organisations. There is no clear proof of this reference, however a constructive gesture from a new organisation could always count on appreciation from policymakers and the general public.
What does regional governments say?
As is often the case in Spain at times of political polarisation such as at present, the right-wing regional governments, which are currently in the majority, feel that the problems are not being sufficiently addressed, although there have not yet been many new statements to this effect. They simply repeat the arguments already that have already been made.
A non-formal idea from Castilla-La Mancha may be the only innovation in the agreement. It would like to see aid to support organic farming, which is currently paid under each region's Rural Development Programme,. It suggests that this measure should become part of the first pillar of the CAP, as additional coupled aid. The vice-president of the regional government made the suggestion at a press conference when asked about reports that up to 5,000 applicants for organic farming subsidies will not be paid because of a lack of funds.
Sector welcomes CAP changes to the astonishment of environmentalists
Environmental groups are opposed to Minister Planas' plan because it "reverses the few environmental advances of the CAP" and makes Spain "more vulnerable" to desertification and climate change, according to Celsa Peiteado of WWF.
Greenpeace has described the easing of environmental rules as “undemocratic” and believes the EU is abandoning policies in a matter of weeks that “took years to agree”. For Greenpeace's Helena Moreno there has been "no impact assessment of the proposal, nor will there be an opportunity for amendments".
SEO/BirdLife has rejected "the modification of the CAP as it implies a relaxation of environmental requirements and controls", "We do not like the fact that environmental requirements have been lowered, it sends the wrong message as it should be understood that public aid is linked to a minimum of environmental requirements".
(sources: press releases MAPA)