SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 1st April. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty of the Government of the Canary Islands, Narvay Quintero, has issued the decree calling for grants for the year 2024 from the Canary Islands Rural Development Programme (PDR) aimed at assisting in the reconstruction of agricultural farms in the areas of Tazacorte, El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane affected by the volcanic eruption of La Palma. The announcement will be published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC) in the upcoming days.
Farmers, livestock breeders, or collectives of these, as well as public institutions registered in the General Registry of Agricultural Production (REGEPA) or in the Livestock Farms Registry (REGA).
The primary goal of this financial support is to restore the impacted farms to their original state before the eruption. This involves the replacement of machinery, irrigation systems, and the restoration of agricultural infrastructures such as greenhouses and sorribas.
Interested parties will have a two-month period, starting from the day following the publication in the BOC, to submit the necessary documentation through the electronic platform of the regional Government (https://sede.gobiernodecanarias.org).
These grants are co-funded by the European Union, the Autonomous Community, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. While the initial allocation is three million euros, the budget earmarked for this purpose can be extended up to a maximum of thirty million euros in order to cover all eligible projects outlined in the decree.
“This call for aid comes after the recent approval by the government of the decree-law on agricultural measures for the island’s recovery post-volcanic eruption. It will enable interventions in agricultural plots that were inaccessible until the roads and pathways damaged by the eruption have been reconstructed,” mentioned Javier Gutiérrez Taño, the Director-General of Agriculture.
Additionally, with regards to financial assistance for income loss among farmers, Taño clarified that calculations had been made by the Government of the Canary Islands months ago for the disbursement of this support, pending approval from the Treasury Ministry for the use of La Palma reconstruction funds for this purpose. The Canary Islands Government requested this authorization weeks ago. “Once the State validates this request, the payments will be processed promptly,” he added.
