SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov 18 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Union of Small and Medium Farmers and Ranchers (UPA-UGT) urges the relevant authorities to expedite the economic aid destined for the primary sector of La Palma, seriously affected by the volcanic eruption.
This is the message that Lorenzo Ramos, general secretary of UPA-UGT, has transmitted to the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands, Alicia Vanoostende, with whom he met this Thursday morning.
“With this meeting we wanted to convey to the counselor the need for aid to arrive and to the affected workers because they are mainly family farms whose domestic economy depended exclusively on the sector. You cannot wait for people to be drowned to start entering the money and in this sense the counselor guarantees us that this month some income will begin, “he said.
This meeting was held after the visit made by the members of the UPA to La Palma, where they have met with different agricultural, livestock and fishing sector representatives.
The volcanic crisis that La Palma has been experiencing since last September 19 has generated considerable economic losses for the primary sector, exceeding the 300 destroyed hectares of cultivation in addition to directly affecting agricultural and livestock facilities and preventing fishermen in the affected area from fishing with normal.
In addition, the UPA also conveyed to the counselor the need for food production to be prioritized and protected, during the duration of the eruption and, what is even more important, once the volcano ceases its activity.
For his part, Manuel Navarro, general secretary of the UGT Canarias, recalled that since the beginning of the crisis the union central has been in contact with these groups, offering advice and resolving the doubts that have arisen in the application of the ERTE due to a volcanological crisis.
“This special aid was approved by the State Government at the request of the UGT Canarias since it is an exceptional situation that requires a measure that is up to par. This cannot be allowed to generate irrecoverable job losses” he commented.
In addition, he said that it is necessary “to start a reactivation plan based on training in order to respond to the new labor demands that go hand in hand with the reconstruction of the island.”
