She boasts of “a lot of listening and dialogue” with agricultural organizations since she took office as Minister of Agriculture last July. María González Corral, agricultural engineer, is “disappointed” with the Government “that remains silent in response to the problems that we have conveyed to it”
The countryside rejects the agreement with Mercosur. What is your position?
What we are clear about is that what we have to do is ensure that there are no disadvantages for our products and that we compete on equal terms with a balanced agreement. There must be maximum transparency in the negotiations. The Government must defend this sector, which is strategic. When farmers took to the streets last year and the EU took note, some member states established flexibilities, but the Government of Spain looked the other way once again. We have to work on equality, not at a disadvantage compared to countries outside or inside the EU. Download the latest issue of elEconomista Agro here
How do you interpret the refusal of the Ministry of Ecological Transition to make wolf protection more flexible despite the decision of the Council of Europe?
The reality is that we are faced with a Ministry whose answer is no because not, without providing arguments. From the Board we have defended this modification in the status of the wolf based on the data, which says that it is possible and necessary, and that has led to the EU and the Permanent Committee of the Berne Convention approving it. You cannot be against the ranchers, the autonomous communities and what Europe has determined. We demand that the minister take note and act accordingly.
Speaking of the new minister, what other demands does she have?
From here we have always demanded that irrigation be opted for its environmental advantages, which are associated with less water and energy consumption; social, because it establishes more population and more young people join, and economic, so that these crops are more competitive and profitable. What we cannot allow is that there are numerous modernization plans that have been paralyzed for years because they are pending the environmental impact declaration and now we find that they are negative.
“I am disappointed with the Government. We have been silent in response to the problems that we have conveyed to them”
Do you think there is an ideological criterion in the Government’s position in this regard?
There should not be one in a Ministry that, in addition to being an Ecological Transition Ministry, is also a Demographic Challenge and has to fight so that in our towns there is economic activity that attracts people and in the municipalities of Castilla y León it is linked directly or indirectly to the agri-food sector. . They are putting spokes in their own wheels. But we can also talk about hydraulic and water policy. We found a Ministry that approved a Duero Hydrological Plan that eliminated investments from previous plans, provided for few new ones, and those it included have not yet begun to be executed.
We launch a new European Commission. What does Castilla y León ask of the EU?
Firstly, in the CAP Strategic Plan adjustments must be made so that it is adapted to the farmers and ranchers of Castilla y León. In addition, a post-27 CAP must be proposed with the necessary budget so that there are no losses in what producers receive. It is also necessary to avoid unfair competition and there is the issue of active substances for crop protection or animal fattening or the protection of workers… We must ensure that our farms are competitive to be able to supply ourselves with safe food, but That has to go hand in hand with competing on equal terms with other countries. And then something that also needs to be reflected in both the current and the next CAP, such as the simplification of procedures. Farmers and ranchers are there to work on their farms and everything that the administrations put on the table has to serve to simplify it instead of involving more bureaucracy. I come from the Department of Digital Transformation and I see many opportunities in new technologies to make farms more competitive. We, at Itacyl, have developed the Sativum application, which allows free advice on how much fertilizer or water to use based on what type of soil or weather predictions. It has been viewed very favorably by the Ministry of Agriculture and the EU and is being used to replicate it in other Communities.
Do you trust that the new Commissioner for Agriculture will have greater political weight than his predecessor? Have you already had any informal contact with him?
I have written to him to congratulate him on his appointment and I have high hopes for him. We are entering a period in which we will soon have to negotiate this future CAP and I trust that it will be sensitive to the demands of the sector and the vision that we have from Castilla y León and that we will work on a CAP that allows fair prices and profitable, efficient operations. and competitive.
And the appointment of Teresa Ribera as vice president, although with fewer powers, I don’t know if it is a bucket of cold water?
The experience we have in Castilla y León has not been good. I have discussed it with the Hydrological Plan, but we have always encountered obstacles. I hope that the EU has a general vision of everything and that farmers and ranchers are not seen as someone who attacks the environment because they live off it. It is necessary to listen to them and talk to them, something that Ribera did not do from the Ministry. He closed the door on them and what he legislated was against them.
How was the conversation with Luis Planas?
The impression I get is that agriculture and livestock are not among the Government’s priorities, with which I am disappointed. When we have asked to address the issue of the exceptional use of phytosanitary products, or to incorporate the 50,000 hectares of irrigated land pending modernization or the low price of products as emblematic for this Community as cereals, we have received silence in response. We have had discrepancies in how they have acted with Castilla y León in the Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHH), which has greatly affected our livestock, an issue in which we demanded national action and it has arrived late and poorly. Only Castilla y León allocated the same amount to the affected livestock farms in 2023 that the Map has said it will allocate for the entire territory and that as of today we have not yet received.
Although there is talk of less environmental pressure in European agricultural policy, reforms such as the Nature Restoration Law or the animal transport regulations are still underway. How can they affect the Community?
Another issue that I have conveyed to the minister is the concern that this regulation generates in our livestock farms. It is being debated in the EU and I hope that the minister will defend it there and be aware of the economic costs that it may entail. If we talk about the Nature Restoration Law, we have to focus it well because we are talking about places that have been degraded and we do not understand that this is due to agriculture and livestock. And then something fundamental, that this Law does not represent a detriment to the current resources of the CAP and therefore there is an additional budget.
You came to office in July, how is the relationship with agricultural organizations?
The Regional Agrarian Council that we held a few days ago allowed me to take stock with the agricultural organizations of these first months and the conclusions that I can draw and in which they agree with me is that if we have meant something to each other, it is because we have had a lot of listening and dialogue with them, which has allowed us to face the problems in a consensual way. I think this has been very positive and has allowed for many actions. One of the requests they had made was that the president of the Board, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, convey in his meeting with Pedro Sánchez the need for a fair CAP, with less bureaucracy and that he think about the future CAP, the issue of the wolf and the importance of water, and everyone moved it.
The takeover bidders ask for tariffs on Ukraine. Are you in favor?
We are concerned about the low prices of some products and we believe that the Government must defend itself in Europe. It is true that we have to analyze some measures that Ukraine has adopted since December 1 in which it is going to establish minimum prices for exports but in parallel it is necessary for Minister Planas to act in the EU so that our farms are more competitive and more efficient. From the Board we have been working on this with land concentrations, in which we have invested more than 90 million in this legislature with actions in more than 70,000 hectares and we have initiated procedures in more than 130,000 hectares.
They have been pioneers in measures such as aid for the transfer of agricultural holdings to encourage generational change. Do you have new initiatives in mind?
In Castilla y León we have always had the incorporation of young people in mind. We have worked in numerous areas, such as training or the inheritance program through which people who retire receive help to pass them on to young people. Also in the incorporation and in October we have resolved the last call, which as a novelty has increased the maximum aid from 70,000 to 100,000 euros. And then if we have to do something further, it is to convey to society the future that this sector has, to make it attractive by putting on the table the opportunities that are generated, both present and future.
The wine sector faces falling sales. Are you in favor of starting up vineyards in appellations like Rueda, as Asaja requests?
In Castilla y León we have excellent wines, 95% protected by some quality figure. Few autonomous communities can say that. And the Regulatory Councils are the organizations in charge of making proposals on limitations to new plantations, replanting or granting planting authorizations. To do this, they are based on the corresponding market studies in order to match supply and demand. This work of the councils is essential to avoid the adoption of drastic measures such as booting. In this sense, there are measures to work on this adaptation between supply and demand, such as the wine sector plan in the PEPAC. Booting is a drastic measure and should be the last one addressed because it is irreversible
The proliferation of renewable energy or biogas parks causes rejection in Ribera del Duero. What is your position?
What we have to do here is establish authorizations that are guarantees for all parties. There is a regulation that establishes limitations in those areas where irrigation modernizations have occurred. On the other hand, any economic activity that intends to be carried out in Castilla y León must comply with legal requirements and in this sense the Board must ensure compliance while guaranteeing the best satisfaction of all competing interests.
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