Likewise, he has underlined the firm social convictions and the special sensitivity of the Government, which will continue to seek dialogue solutions with all the affected agents.
The minister who has answered in the Senate two oral questions and an interpellation on the actions planned to meet the demands of the professionals of the field, has indicated that the problem of the agricultural sector is structural in nature and affects the main countries of our environment with common denominators such as low prices, and new environmental requirements, within the framework of the future CAP.
Faced with this, the minister said, a package of measures has been launched with several objectives so that farmers and ranchers receive a higher remuneration, through a rebalancing of the agri-food chain.
He has highlighted the proposal to modify the Food Chain Act of 2013, which will include a more precise relationship of prohibited commercial practices and a regulation against the destruction of the value of agricultural products throughout it, so that farmers and ranchers receive fairer prices.
He also pointed out that work is being done to value his work, which is why the agricultural dialogue table has been set up with the sector, which met on February 3 and will do so again next March to analyze the specific measures put in place. on going.
Meetings with the sector
Minister Planas recalled that since the beginning of this term, he has held meetings with agricultural professional organizations, agri-food cooperatives and with different sectors of the food chain to deal with a problem "that is not simple and that requires everyone's commitment to work it out".
He mentioned that he has met the Food Chain Observatory, in which all the agents of the sector participate, from the farmers to the distributors, as well as with the consumers, to examine how the margins are distributed in the sectors most affected by the crisis, including the different production costs.
An Observatory, said the minister, who was too paralyzed for a long time and "we wanted to recover his important function" to resume the collective and participatory analysis.
Sectors
In the sector scope, Planas has highlighted the importance in Spain of two sensitive sectors in the face of price volatility such as olive oil and table olives, and fruit and vegetable.
"Our goal," stressed the minister, "is clear and focuses on improving the sector's backbone and making producers improve their negotiating position within the chain," especially through cooperative companies and producer organizations, which constitute a primary element in the agri-food chain in Spain. For this reason, he has commented that a proposal to modify the Interprofessional Organizations Law.
Likewise, he explained, within the framework of CAP Strategic Plan which the Ministry is preparing together with the autonomous communities and with the sector, the creation of a specific sector program for olive oil and table olives will be proposed.
The CAP post 2020
To support the sector, Planas has commented that since the Ministry has been working since 2018 to analyze the problems that affect the whole of the Spanish agri-food sector. He has highlighted the work that is being developed to defend a CAP to help those who need it, "to the immense middle class that is in the limits of profitability" of their farms, while facing the necessary climate and environmental transformation of production methods.
Planas has urged political parties, society in general and the various links in the chain to collaborate to revalue the work of professionals in the field and achieve fair prices for them.
