The counselor of Agriculture, Fishing, Water, and Rural Development of the Junta de Andalucía, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, pointed out this Monday that the Andalusian Government understands "perfectly the concern" of the primary sector and shares the "just demands" that the field raises, especially "with the rise in inputs and fuels," in the context of the tractor protest called in Madrid this Wednesday by Asaja-Andalucía, COAG Andalucía, and Cooperativas Agroalimentarias de Andalucía.
Fernández-Pacheco made these statements to the media during the inauguration of the Wine and Sea Fair, Vimar, in Huelva, where he specified that the Junta "neither supports nor stops supporting" the protest, but does assume "the concern" of the producers, "especially with the rise in inputs and fuels." In his opinion, "we are talking about a sector continuously punished by inflation," to which "the problems they have with labor" are added, which, he said, explains "the concern and general discomfort."
The Andalusian official emphasized that from the Junta de Andalucía they have "always" shown "willingness to work hand in hand with all of this."
"We have raised on several occasions the need to make tax cuts that directly affect the pockets of farmers, ranchers, and fishermen, because this activity of the primary sector cannot operate at a loss."
In this line, he insisted that "we are aware that a tax cut, both regarding the modules of the IRPF and VAT, would also mean a reduction in the income of the Junta de Andalucía itself, but we understand that it is the time to be on the side of the primary sector. We have requested this and hope that all these mobilizations will resonate in the Ministry and be sensitive to a demand that we understand is just," Fernández-Pacheco added.
The counselor added that, in his visits and meetings with professionals from the livestock, agricultural, and fishing sectors, "they always convey that complicated situation." "If we are all suffering from the price of fuel in our pockets, imagine if our boat, the activity we depend on, required that fuel daily or if we had to start the tractor to be able to carry out the tasks of our agricultural operation."
"What cannot be is that a fisherman stops going out to fish because he knows for certain that whatever he catches will result in losses because the price of fuel is so outrageous that he will never be able to compensate for it. That situation is unsustainable. The primary sector, which is the first economic and social sector of Andalusia, has to be profitable," he has stated.
At this point, he has emphasized that "all the future challenges" that need to be faced in the primary sector "must pivot around profitability, for the simple reason that if the sector is not profitable, no one will want to dedicate themselves to it."
"So we understand that concern, we also understand that the demands they raise are fair demands and we hope that the ministry is sensitive to them. That said, we respect the decision that each agricultural organization has within its governing bodies and the mobilizations they initiate," he has concluded.