SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 6th August (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty Minister of the Canary Islands Government, Narvay Quintero, has held a meeting with representatives from olive growers’ associations on the islands. He announced that the Executive is currently working on the provision of direct aid to producers to alleviate the impacts of the drought, which will include olive groves among other crops.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Association of Olive Growers of the Canary Islands (ASOLICA) and various producer groups from La Palma, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Tenerife. Also present were the Director General of Agriculture, Javier Gutiérrez Taño; the Director of the Canary Islands Institute of Agri-Food Quality (ICCA), Luis Arráez Guadalupe; the First Deputy Mayor of Arico, Andrés Martínez, and technical experts linked to this productive subsector.
During the meeting, the participants highlighted to the department head the urgent need for financial assistance for farmers and olive oil producers to compensate for the loss of income caused by the unusually low production during an olive harvest affected by the consequences of climate change.
In this context, Narvay Quintero outlined that the support for farmers is planned to be announced towards the end of the year. He also reiterated that there will be a confirmed increase of up to 550 Euros per hectare in aid from the Community Program to Support Agricultural Production in the Canary Islands (POSEI) for the 2023 season, to be paid in 2024, which will be maintained for subsequent seasons.
“This season has been particularly challenging for this sector due to a significantly low flowering as a result of inadequate cold hours and rising temperatures. Farmers have reported that this crop, which requires less water compared to other existing crops on the islands, is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change,” stated Quintero.
The minister also committed to exploring a financial support mechanism for the olive oil industry “in response to the exceptional circumstances of the current season.” Moreover, he pledged to collaborate with the Canary Islands Institute for Agricultural Research (ICIA) to conduct a study assessing the impact of climate change on olive groves in conjunction with other government bodies.
