The counselor of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development, Julián Martínez Lizán, held a bilateral meeting this Tuesday in Madrid with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, Luis Planas. In the meeting, he conveyed a package of strategic demands for Castilla-La Mancha related to the reform of the CAP, the review of the economic criteria for agricultural aid, the defense of sectoral interventions, and hydrological planning.
In statements prior to the media, the counselor pointed out that the CAP after 2027 must move towards greater simplification and reduction of bureaucratic burdens, one of the central claims of the field, and allow for a realistic forecast of future aid. He insisted that this planning is key for the sectors with the most difficulties, such as extensive livestock farming, taking into account both the Strategic Plan for Extensive Livestock Farming of Castilla-La Mancha and the National Strategic Plan for Extensive Livestock Farming.
Martínez Lizán also presented to the minister the need to update the economic criteria used to calculate aid for the incorporation of young people, improvement plans, or the recognition of priority farms. These amounts are based on the Law of Agricultural Exploitations, which sets yields per crop with data that is already outdated concerning the current reality.
"The standard gross margins, as they are known, date back many years and a modernization of the amounts assigned to each area is necessary to respond to the current moment of the prices that crops may be offering to producers," he detailed in this regard.
Another issue that "worries a lot and that we consider fundamental" in Castilla-La Mancha is the future of sectoral interventions, especially in the wine and beekeeping sectors, according to the Junta in a statement.
Regarding the Wine Sectoral Intervention (ISV), the counselor recalled that wine represents around 5% of the regional GDP and therefore has a "very significant" impact. He added "the concerns that are being expressed regarding wine consumption and the challenges that consumers are marking." For this reason, he defended that the ISV should "clearly" be maintained with a sufficient budget to respond to the current needs of the producing, transforming, and elaborating sector.
Restructuring of the vineyard and support for beekeeping
This policy is decisive for Castilla-La Mancha and, in the opinion of the counselor, must continue. In fact, starting this Wednesday, the first resolutions for vineyard restructuring for 1,800 hectares and about 500 farmers will begin to be sent, figures that demonstrate the weight of this instrument for the Autonomous Community.
Regarding the Beekeeping Intervention, he considered it essential to ensure its continuity "with extraordinary support, due to what the beekeeping sector represents for pollination and the guarantee of the continuity of agricultural activity." In addition, he opened the door to strengthening this activity through the Strategic Plan for Extensive Livestock.
Innovation, drones, and reduction of phytosanitary products
The regional official advocated for "seriously supporting innovation and technology," emphasizing the role that the use of drones can play in the field. In this sense, he positively assessed the work of the Ministry, "which is aligned because the lines it has marked indicate so," and demanded a response to the request "that we unanimously receive from the sector regarding the use of drones to apply fertilizers and, above all, phytosanitary products."
As he explained, this tool can contribute "a lot" to lowering the costs of applying inputs and reducing work times and, in addition, allow treatments in especially complicated situations, "when we have had, for example, the floods that have made it impossible to enter the terraces and those applications were needed." All of this would help meet the European Union's objective of reducing the use of phytosanitary products, since, in this case, at least a 30% reduction in these products could be guaranteed.
Hydrological planning and continuity of irrigation
In terms of water, the counselor recalled that, although neither the Ministry nor the Department holds direct competencies, "we do have a very important connection and dependence." Therefore, he expressed his concern about the possible repercussions of the upcoming hydrological planning cycle in a region through which "seven of the nine river basin confederations of Spain" run.
Therefore, he emphasized, "this work that we have to develop together with Ecological Transition and Sustainable Development to understand that we need to guarantee the continuity of irrigation in our land is very important."
Olive campaign and oil prices
At the end of the meeting, Martínez Lizán brought to the table issues related to the upcoming collection campaign in the region, focused on the olive grove, which at this moment constitutes the main area of woody crops in Castilla-La Mancha. He expressed his concern about certain administrative aspects linked to the regulations that must be applied, as well as the evolution of oil prices, "which are not sufficient, in campaigns that have really been short and when almost all the oil has already been sold and therefore prices should be more in line with production costs."
The counselor framed this situation in a complex exercise, "in which geopolitics has marked the increase in the price of inputs, fertilizers, fuels, and energy." Therefore, he concluded that "it is essential that we understand that agricultural products must have the appropriate and fair price to ensure the viability and profitability of farmers and ranchers."