SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Oct 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands has requested the General Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Union to maintain the historical reference for the banana farms affected by lava and ash in the eruptive process of La Palma in order to maintain the volume of aid to producers.
Given the crisis in the sector, it is considered necessary to exempt the obligation to market 70% of its reference amount, as reflected in the POSEI, which will allow paying one hundred percent of the aid, reports the Government in a note.
On the other hand, the Minister, Alicia Vanoostende, has invited the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Janusz Wojciechowski, to visit La Palma to assess first-hand the damage caused by the volcanic eruption in the primary sector of the island.
The regional minister explained that with the visit of the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, member of the European Commission in charge of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the European Union, they want him to be able to “verify in situ the difficult situation that La Palma due to the volcano and the urgent need to be able to count on European funds to alleviate the effects of this catastrophe “.
In this sense, Vanoostende pointed out that “the damages caused so far by the eruption in the primary sector of the island are millionaires with more than 188 hectares of agrarian land devastated by lava, among which are 97 dedicated to the cultivation of bananas, 50 to the vineyard or 13 to the avocado, in addition to livestock farms affected with more than 2,000 heads of evacuated cattle, irrigation networks and access to destroyed farms, fishing fleet moored in port, as well as the affectation of ash in crops throughout the Island”.
At this moment, he comments, “all aid is little” for the island of La Palma, which is why he urges to “mobilize” the greatest number of public institutions.
“During these weeks many colleagues from the Canary Islands Government have been concerned and visited the Island with our President Ángel Víctor Torres at the helm, President Pedro Sánchez and various ministers and ministers, as well as authorities from other administrations. I hope that Janusz Wojciechowski will can join and visit our island, because now more than ever, we are all with La Palma “, emphasized the counselor.
