SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, March 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín, and the insular Councilor for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Javier Parrilla, have met with the island’s potato sector to present the new strategy with which they want to boost production and marketing of this agricultural product, which has an initial budget of 819,000 euros, one of the fundamental lines is the plan to fight against the Guatemalan moth, to which 555,000 euros will be allocated.
During the meeting, which was attended by the island’s agricultural centers and cooperatives, the Bonita Potato Association and more than fifteen producers, Pedro Martín announced that this year “20 cents will be paid for each kilo of potato with moths that deliver”. “In addition, we will allocate 400,000 euros in aid to promote agroecological practices that minimize the damage of this pest and improve the quality of cultivation soils,” he added.
Specifically, the Cabildo will promote the practice of crop rotation and will finance the purchase of phytosanitary products included in integrated pest management, the release of natural enemies in the plantations through a specialized company, and the removal of affected potatoes for processing. elimination.
Another 140,000 euros have also been provided to reinforce the management of the collection of affected potatoes, “which will not only consist of placing collection containers in various municipalities, but we will increase the frequency of emptying and we will carry out analysis and weighing of the affected potatoes”, explained Pedro Martín.
The president also promised to study “a new line of support to defray part of the costs of fertilizers due to the escalation of prices” and to try to promote a complete renovation of the storage chambers to reduce production costs.
“If we want to maintain this crop and generate economy on the island, it is essential that we sit down with the sector and gather their proposals and ideas to find out where we need to improve and where we need to direct our efforts,” said Pedro Martín.
MARKETING SUPPORT
With regard to the marketing and production of potatoes, the insular person in charge of the primary sector announced that the insular Corporation will allocate an item of 264,000 euros. “It is essential that we continue working to position the Tenerife potato, highlighting its nutritional benefits and publicizing its multiple commercial varieties, because, in addition, we start from a very powerful seed bank,” he pointed out.
The counselor recalled that “in recent years the productivity per hectare of potatoes has increased, thanks, in large part, to the improvements in the irrigation systems that we have made, which has contributed to counteract the losses derived from the drought and the damage caused by the Guatemalan moth”.
In this sense, he added that “it is clear that continuing to do the same thing is not going to give us different results, hence our determination to launch new games and strategies with which we hope to be able to achieve better results”.
Calculation of costs in potato production
The meeting also presented the preliminary summary of the calculation of potato production costs, prepared by the Rural Action group of Tenerife and the technical service of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Cabildo, “a commitment that we acquired with the agrarian organizations and that we have now made available for analysis and review”, explained Javier Parrilla.
The study analyzes the costs of white and colored or beautiful potatoes according to the geographical area (north and south of the island) and the irrigation system used (conventional or organic). The objective “is for this report to become a basic document so that farmers on the island have a reference price and do not sell at a loss,” he added.
Both the president and the counselor explained that the Cabildo continues working to get the sale of potatoes abroad to be allowed again. “We have presented the multiple reports and studies that have been required of us, but now new ones are required of us and that is where we are at. What we are clear about is that we will continue to fight to ensure that we can export again in Spain and Europe, because it would not only mean expand the market, but to give greater stability to the sector”.
At the end of the meeting, the island president advanced that in the coming weeks regional meetings will be convened to monitor these lines of action and disseminate these measures to the largest number of producers directly.
