The counselor of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food of the Government of Aragón, Arancha Simón, has urged this Wednesday the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food not to consider the negotiation of the next Common Agricultural Policy closed without first clarifying the volume of resources that the sector will have.
Simón has attended in Madrid the Agricultural Advisory Council for Community Affairs, where Aragón has defended that the future CAP should have its own, sufficient, and protected financing, at least similar to that of the current period, and that it remains outside the single fund.
"The CAP must maintain its own financing and be outside the single fund. If the money allocated to agriculture is mixed with other policies, it will cease to be protected and will depend on the priorities of each Government," the counselor has pointed out.
The Aragonese Executive has also warned that it will not accept that States have to assume part of what until now is funded by the European Union, since, in its opinion, that formula would weaken one of the main support mechanisms for farmers and ranchers.
The counselor has emphasized that the debate on the new framework of the CAP cannot be reduced to distributing funds without first knowing the real financial scenario.
"The first thing that the field must know is what budget it will have. The sector cannot be asked to plan its future while uncertainty about financing remains," she has stated.
In the Advisory Council, Aragón has also requested that the autonomous communities be integrated from the start in the design of the new model. The Department maintains that the upcoming CAP must retain common rules, but with enough flexibility to adapt to the productive, territorial, and climatic reality of each region.
"A dryland in Monegros and an irrigated area of the Ebro do not produce the same nor bear the same costs, so they cannot receive the same treatment," Simón has defended.
In this line, the counselor has emphasized that the aids must be directed to those who really work and produce, and consider the effective activity of extensive livestock farming, depopulation, and the employment that sustain the designations of origin and the agri-food industry in the rural environment.
The Department has emphasized that a CAP designed with its back to the territory can end up being an added burden for the sector. For this reason, Aragón demands an agricultural policy that supports the producer, simplifies bureaucracy, and takes into account the differences between territories, crops, exploitation models, and production costs.
Young farmers and generational change
Aragón has also argued that the next CAP should incorporate an ambitious package to facilitate the entry of young people into the countryside.
The counselor has pointed out that reserving between 7% and 10% of the funds for this purpose may be an appropriate measure, but has warned that "a premium is useless if the young person cannot access the land or if the transfer of the farm is unmanageable."
"Generational change is not resolved just with an initial aid. It must be accompanied by access to land, a tax system that facilitates the transfer, investment, training, and support during the first years," Simón has stated.
The Department considers that the new CAP must offer effective solutions to those who wish to join the countryside and engage in a sustainable professional activity over time. "We want young people to be able to stay in the countryside and live off their farm when the aid ends," the counselor has affirmed.
Aragón has shared this approach along with Castilla y León in the Consultative Council held in Madrid, with the intention of supporting a solid CAP, with sufficient funds, fewer administrative burdens, and greater capacity to adapt to the reality of farmers and ranchers.
"The CAP cannot be built from an office nor with its back to those who produce food every day. It must serve to provide stability to the countryside, guarantee the profitability of farms, and allow farmers and ranchers to continue working," Simón has concluded.