SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, March 4. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands, Alicia Vanoostende, has shown this Friday her satisfaction with the approval by the European Commission of the modifications proposed by the Government of the Canary Islands so that the producers affected by the eruption of La Palma continue to receive a level of support comparable to that of previous years.
This approval will allow agri-food producers to continue receiving European aid until they fully recover from the damage caused by the volcanic crisis.
Thus, all agricultural and livestock producers affected by the volcano will be able to collect as Posei aid for the 2021 and subsequent campaigns the average of what was collected in the 2017-2019 triennium, while the damage persists.
In the case of banana producers, the victims are exempt from the obligation to market a minimum of 70% in order to collect one hundred percent of the aid and, in addition, the people who have lost their farms under the lava can maintain the quantities reference until at least 2023.
Additionally, given that a large number of producers have been affected by the direct consequences of the volcanic eruption (ash emissions that spoil production, impossibility or limitations to work on the farms, among others) as well as by the indirect ones (difficulties in the packaging or the commercial chain), the reference amounts will remain fixed for these producers until the consequences of the eruption have been overcome.
For farmers whose land was destroyed by lava and ash, Posei support can be continued during the recovery period, on the condition that the farmers affected by the eruption make a clear commitment to continue farming or restore it.
The regional manager of the area has highlighted the effort and insistence of the Canarian Government when transferring the exceptional circumstances of the sector in La Palma to the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, and the different meetings held in Brussels with the general director of Agriculture of the European Commission, Pierre Bascou, and his team so that the sector does not lose any aid corresponding to community funds.
“Coordination and cooperation with the Ministry has been essential for Europe to be aware of the serious situation we are going through. We have achieved a first victory so that our farmers and ranchers do not lose income from subsidies due to the volcano,” he said.
