Pamplona (EFE).- Despite the fact that the drought in Navarra is not having the very serious effect that it does present in other Communities, the situation “worries” both the regional government and agricultural and livestock organizations, who see the cereal harvest lost of dry land and ask for economic aid and other measures such as the destination of the straw to feed the cattle and not for biomass.
This has been revealed by both the Minister of Rural Development and the Environment, Itziar Gómez, as well as the presidents of UAGN and EHNE, Félix Bariáin and Fermín Gorraiz, who together with representatives of other organizations in the sector, technicians from other departments and members of organizations involved (such as the State Meteorology Agency) have participated in the second meeting of the Navarra Drought Board.
Upon her arrival, the counselor explained to the journalists that the call, after the first meeting on April 4 in Navarra and on April 17 in the State, was intended to monitor the situation, which with respect to irrigated crops did not it can be evaluated for being in previous dates of the plantations.
Yes, in dryland arable crops there has already been a “very serious” condition of the drought of 40,000 hectares in Alto Aragón and Ribera Baja and part of the Middle Zone, while for the moment the crop situation remains “acceptable”. and pastures in the rest of the agricultural regions.
a changing photograph
As for irrigation, of the 119,000 hectares in Navarra, the 30,000 hectares dependent on Itoiz “today have a full guarantee of irrigation,” he said, and the CHE has only set a restriction on the allocation of irrigation which is for the Bardenas Canal.
In any case, he has warned that “the photograph of the drought and its effects is dynamic, it keeps changing. It can get worse but it can also be alleviated”, and for this reason this follow-up.
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Gómez has recognized that the situation in Navarra is “worrying”, despite the fact that “fortunately it is not punishing us with the same severity as other communities”, and for this reason he has assured that the Government is working “to provide us with those tools that allow us to put measures are in place that can alleviate the situation.
In this regard, she recalled that she herself requested at the state meeting on April 17 “the immediate approval of a Royal Decree-Law on the drought that gives us the legal coverage we need to launch lines of support in the future, as well as something Easing the requirements for the collection of PAC measures is just as important”.
The proposed measures
He has also listed different measures proposed to alleviate the situation, such as allowing fallow grazing, reducing the minimum grazing period, allowing improvers (legumes, sunflower or rapeseed) not to reach flowering, and others.
In addition to all this, the ministry has asked the European Commission to increase the amount of advances, and it is considering extending the deadline for the single application and the delay in the entry into force of “something as controversial for the sector as the exploitation log ”.
Regarding possible direct aid measures, the counselor has assured that “work is being done to find formulas and funds to provide the necessary support measures for the sector”, although she has not specified the possibility of adopting fiscal measures in Navarre.
UAGN: “The problem is very serious”
For his part, Félix Bariain (UAGN) attended the meeting waiting for “forceful measures. The problems are very serious ”, he has said, eager to have “fiscal measures” that are already being applied in other communities, such as reductions in the net income of personal income tax.
“Here the administration has many things to do”, he said to also point to the need for “all kinds of tax exemptions because the situation is chaotic”, he said to also add a “fundamental” measure, that of waste of cereal (straw) “be prioritized for farmers before biomass. The life of the animals depends on that and not take them to the slaughterhouse”.
“We are not here for diagnoses, but rather to apply rapid and forceful measures”, said a Bariaín convinced of the “extreme seriousness” of the situation in Navarra, where the cereal harvest is being lost and the cattle have to be fed artificially, “a cost further”.
EHNE: “It’s going to be a very difficult year”
Along the same lines, Fermín Gorraiz (EHNE) has defined the situation in most of Navarra as “worrying”, with the dry cereal harvest in the Ribera “already disappeared”, “very poor” in the Middle Zone and still existing in the Pamplona Basin, although “the forecasts say that the weather is not going to accompany it”.
“This year at the agricultural level is going to be very complicated, and at the livestock level at the state level it is not known what is going to happen”, he has advanced to conclude: “We need help”.
After coinciding with the demand that straw be used for livestock and not for biomass and export, Gorraiz has warned that straw prices have doubled compared to previous years, he said to add to the demand for a necessary tax reduction to the primary sector in these circumstances.