Aragonese farmers have taken to the streets this Tuesday, January 28 to request that the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of this year include more financing and prioritize a sector so that it has a “professional” but also “social” perspective . “What we call family farming.”
This was stated by UAGA Secretary General, José María Alcubierre, in statements to Europa Press. The rally has gathered around 3,000 people at the roundabout of the Zaragoza Logistics Platform (Plaza), under the slogan 'Who will feed you tomorrow?'
This mobilization has been convened by the Union of Small Farmers (UPA), the Regional Association of Farmers and Ranchers of Aragon (ARAGA), the Union of Farmers and Ranchers of Aragon (UAGA) and the Agricultural Association of Young Farmers (ASAJA).
“We don't want to move from here because people are having a hard time and there is not a policy dedicated to farmers,” Alcubierre said. With phrases such as 'Agriculture with farmers' or 'Enough of historical rights', the concentrates seek to transfer the reality of a situation that they consider “critical.”
International and Spanish context
In this regard, Alcubierre has stressed that workers are demanding more budget, since the European Union is “taking funds” from agricultural policies to deal with the United Kingdom's departure from the supranational body.
At the same time, he has lamented that, in an international context in which the great powers such as China, Russia or the United States are “betting” on the primary sector, Spain and Europe are “looking the other way.”
In addition, it has caused that from the Union the “sanctions and tariffs of these powers to European products that especially affect the farmers and ranchers are being taken down”. “We have to be more united and defend our policies,” he said.
As for the new Spanish Executive, Alcubierre has indicated that professionals in the sector are “expectant” to see what will be the actions in agrifood matters and has asked for a “change” of the current situation because it ensures that they have already “two PACs asking the same”.
This round of mobilizations has extended this Tuesday through different parts of Aragon, as well as through Galicia, the Basque Country and will continue this Wednesday in Extremadura, La Rioja and Andalusia. On the 30th, concentrations will also be held in Castilla y León and Andalucía.
SMI
Asked about the effects of the rise of the Minimum Interprofessional Salary (SMI) to farmers, Alcubierre has celebrated that the Government “thinks about those who least charge” but has criticized that, at the same time, it leaves “the weakest sector aside” and in “a painful situation.”
“Just as you care about professionals, you have to worry about the weakest sector that is fruit and vegetables, which are selling below production prices and that greatly affects farms,” he said.
On the other hand, Alcubierre has stressed that farmers are those who “have proven to be there” when the Public Administrations “do not arrive” and, in particular, has referred to the storm 'Gloria'. “The country people have been there to clean the roads with their tractors and to help those who needed it,” he said.
However, regarding the damages caused by the storm, the Secretary General of UAGA has indicated that losses are still being assessed in the sector although there have been “major conditions” in livestock areas and the cultivation of the olive grove.