Spanish government calls on EU to defend agricultural sector

The Spanish government has confirmed its commitment to defending its farmers and called on the EU to do likewise. The country’s Minister of Agriculture Luis Planas met virtually with the professional organisations Upa, Coag and Asaja to discuss a plan to protect the country’s vital agricultural sector. The move follows a complaint by the provincial secretary of Coag, Andrés Gongora, regarding the sale of Senegal watermelons in supermarkets where local fruits are also available.

Coag secretary general Miguel Blanco said that Planas promised to facilitate seasonal work to complete agricultural campaigns and requesting market measures from the European Commission to support the agricultural sectors affected by the Coronavirus. In addition, the minister will call for the reactivation of an observatory to combat price speculation and a strengthened budget for the CAP that supports the essential and strategic agricultural sector.

The associations define the initiatives taken thus far by the EU’s agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski to extend the deadline for requests for CAP assistance as “totally insufficient”.