Cijara Reservoir, at the head of the Guadiana River at its entrance to Extremadura. It is at 17.9% of its capacity. /
The region demands from the Government a series of measures that link more than one ministry and that range from direct aid to exemptions in the payment of taxes and fees
Tomorrow, the Ministry of Agriculture summons the autonomous communities to a meeting of the Drought Table. It will be carried out electronically. From there will come a territorial and sectoral analysis of the climatological evolution and, the most relevant in a practical way, measures will be studied to alleviate the damage caused by the lack of rain. In the case of Extremadura, except for a miracle in the form of very abundant rains this spring, the reality is complicated: farmers and industries in the Guadiana basin, where the weight of Extremaduran irrigators is concentrated, have water reserves for 38 % of a normal campaign. The usual is an endowment of 1,293 cubic hectometers (hm3) to irrigate, once the water required to ensure human supply and the ecological flow of the Guadiana and its tributaries has been deducted. As of February, the amount available for irrigation was about 490 hm3.
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The Drought Table convened by the Ministry led by Luis Planas will be chaired by the Undersecretary of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Ernesto Abati García-Manso. Extremadura is clear about its requests to the Government, which is competent to adopt measures that link more than one ministry and, in some cases, require permission from Brussels. From the Government of Extremadura, they propose that these measures be for farmers primarily, for professionals in the field. The Board has already transferred the central Executive to reflect all the measures in a royal decree of drought that should come out in a short time.
This is what Extremadura will take to the Drought Table tomorrow
- 1
State aid. Direct aid, non-refundable, that the Government can grant to farmers and ranchers affected by not being able to irrigate and plant crops or have pasture for livestock. This type of direct aid requires the authorization of the European Commission.
- two
‘Minimis’ aid, which can be granted without the approval of Brussels. In this case, they can be a maximum of 25,000 farmers per farmer and 200,000 euros for the industry.
- 3
Tax exemptions for this campaign. Specifically, the Board requests that the payment of the regulation fee and the water use fee paid by the irrigators to the Guadiana Confederation not have to be paid or reduced to the maximum. Or that professionals in the field are exempt from paying the rustic IBI.
- 4
soft loans. Formalization of very low-interest loans, as has been granted in other crisis situations, to facilitate the liquidity of farmers and agro-livestock companies.
- 5
CAP aid. On the one hand, that the advance payment in October of the collection of PAC aid is up to 70% -normally it is 50%- in the case of the single payment and green payment. On the other hand, flexibility on the part of the Government and the EU to be able to collect the green payment aid, being able to use plots planned as fallow for pasture for cattle or to be able to sow cereals and oilseeds exceptionally. The war in Ukraine is already leading to higher prices and threatens cereal shortages in the EU countries this campaign.
The Director General of Agriculture and Livestock, Antonio Cabezas, and Manuel Mejías, Secretary General of Population and Rural Development of the Ministry of Agriculture will intervene as representatives of Extremadura at the meeting of the Drought Table.
Topics
Luis Planas, European Commission, PAC, European Union (EU), Brussels, Extremadura, Agriculture, Water, Field, PAC (Common Agricultural Policy), swamp, drought
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.