In the case of Capoulas Santos, the Ministry of Agriculture, the giant conference table still has scattered documents. The theme of the moment is the PDR 2020 (Rural Development Programme), whose management team guardianship replaced by wanting to give a “new dynamic” in the implementation, which, according to the Government, did not exceed 12% in 2015 and did not leave from 0% in 2014 – the year of release, it is generally low. The financial slippage of the program occupied the first three months of minister’s office, but there is more beyond the EU funds. On Monday in Brussels discuss the crisis in the milk and pork and is expected to further aid for producers who turn out to the street for what they believe to be the largest protest since the problems become more acute. The national milk promotion campaign starts soon.
When you spoke about the financial slippage in agri-environmental measures (had a budget of 511 million euros, but commitments were made more than 800 million), said the situation would have to be clarified, even in instances “that are not only of public opinion.” Will proceed with a formal complaint
My concern right now is to solve the problems I encountered and were essentially of two types: one PDR management that I would rate at least very unwise and an execution rate of almost zero. The program runs between 2014 and 2020. The first year had a run of 0%, the second 12%. What I propose is to run 2016-100%, and for this to be possible, the first objective is to achieve national envelope needed to implement the Community counterpart. The annual appropriation for the program is 600 million euros and to be able to mobilize them need to have 90 million national budget. Last year this allocation was 70 million. So get 100% of the national counterpart in the context in which we had been a very difficult endeavor. It remains to solve another problem, which is the debt that has been left in the insurance system. We found a debt of about EUR 20 million that should have been paid by 31 December 2015, for which there was no financial coverage. It will not be possible to pay off in 2016. I will try to negotiate a payment plan with insurers and managed to allocate to the State Budget (OE) five million for this purpose. Another very serious problem was a lack of financial coverage for execution of works that are currently underway in Alqueva.
There is no money to pay the contractors?
These works were contracted in 2014 and 2015 with lead times extending to August 2016 but whose source of funding ended 31 December 2015 were missing about 24 million euros to pay until August contractors and OE accommodates this value.
with regard to the Alqueva, announced in Parliament that is studying the possibility of using the Juncker plan. Already formalized this intention?
On this subject, the ambition we have to extend the Alqueva project in over 45 000 hectares, which requires an additional investment of 150 to 160 million euros by 2020 and substantially from 2017, as the year 2016 is to complete the work in progress and prepare tenders for enlargement. This year we will have to look for an alternative source of funding that is at present being studied. There is no final decision, there is the chance to take out a loan to the European Investment Bank, the Juncker Plan, among others. The intention is to do it without burdening the PDR, since we want to allocate program funds to other irrigation schemes in other regions of the country that were long forgotten in the previous programming period.
your biggest concern is thus find a way to finance the sector.
the three main fronts were secure financial resources to implement 100% PDR and break the process is not running coming since 2014. we are now beginning to approve projects that applied in 2014 and end of 2015. in principle three months have done much more than was done in the previous two years. The important thing was getting back to normal in the approval of projects, of course within the limits of the financial allocation in 2016.
What did he mean when he said that such “reckless management” of the PDR would have to be clarified?
what happened are objective facts. And on this subject already I said what I had to say, because (and I express appreciation for this attitude) my predecessor already assumed that made this decision consciously. It was taken unilaterally and communicated to Brussels a national monies compromise proposal unless the Government has taken a decision to that effect. Cause me strange that a minister can do it and that a president of chamber or board president be punished if they do. There is now a set of constraints that we have to overcome and some already were the computer system that made the transfer of management authority decisions to the payor (IFAP) was not working and it was unlocked. Do not let me seem strange that after two years of PDR computer system without which it is not possible to approve applications were not working. There is a certain shortage of human resources, as some teams were contracted term and the contract ended before the end of the year. It takes new hires, with permission of Finance, and new bureaucratic procedures. We will try to mobilize other resources within the ministry and, from there, putting the country to work and the agricultural sector to receive EU funds that are available to us and are crucial to create jobs and boost the strategy that we have is to continue to bet on the sector, in production, agro-industry, export. Here, the numbers are impressive, they are the result of the work of farmers and benefits of European Union (EU) and now becoming visible. It is the result of three decades of consecutive effort and some continuity of policies independently of governments. Because this is a very conditioning sector for European policies and the national bank is short.
The request for reprogramming PDR2020 will only go to Brussels after being approved by the Government. When do you expect to get the document?
The OE is approved on 16 and I intend to submit reprogramming the government between the end of the month and early April. The EU should not take more than two months to decide and it is not exactly a permit, but to communicate some changes. I hope to have this issue resolved by the end of the first half. However am I decide a bulky set of projects that entered according to the previous rules and these applications give us work for many months. The new rules only apply to new tenders.
There is EU money to spend, but that sector is that in your opinion should be driven?
> the previous Government’s vision was liberal, ie the approval of projects was made by order of seniority of applications. If, for instance, we want to bet on dried fruit and enter these applications later they would not be approved. Is not this the option that we will do in the future. Without aiming at the planning of the economy, of course there are political guidelines that must be taken into account in the planning of the resources we have. One issue that we are very expensive and it will appear in the next reprogramming has to do with the positive discrimination of small farming. Since many small farmers end up being consumers of a very small portion of the resources, so we will rise to 40 thousand euros the maximum amount of investment that is now limited to 25 thousand euros.
not all small producers can fill out an application and have access to the Brussels money.
neither they nor I, nor you. The procedures are very bureaucratic, we are dealing with public money. Each farmer on each farm has a range of opportunities and we need to make a characterization to see what steps can be taken advantage of. This is a technical work done by agricultural organizations, which do competently.
But there is another side. Many young people, attracted by the idea of ”facilitismo” in agriculture and enticed by consultants, managed EU funds but are struggling to meet commitments.
No doubt. So we intend to introduce more rigor and we will find a way that requires technical monitoring by the farmer who settles for a certain period. I also intend to make an assessment. Do not just say that settled many young people in agriculture. You need to know how many were successful. This assessment does not exist in the ministry and I intend to do it quickly. I recognize that this is an issue and has been spoken to young farmers, who also advocate the need for monitoring of the project. Serve to prevent abandonment and even to deter any incorrect practices. Often, covered the installation of the project youth, who continues to manage is who managed before. You have to make that evaluation and monitoring.
Much has been said about the success of the sector. But employment in agriculture fell 7% in the last quarter of 2015 and has declined consecutively in an annual review. Not to be created wealth in the sector?
What I think has happened in the last three decades has been a profound structural change. There was a major product change, but abandoned a number of less competitive activities and we won competitiveness. That’s what has to determine our export vocation. Just see what was the fruit and what it is today. What was the wine and what it is today. However, we are a country that has a number of negative characteristics Unfortunately, as is the case of our land structure. The north of the Tagus is difficult to find well-sized companies and there are farmers who have several plots of land, divided and distant, where an agricultural machine operation is difficult. This is one of the structural constraints we have. When referring to job loss, we remember that we are the third EU country with the largest working population in agricultara. It is not necessarily an indicator of development and admit that given the land structure that we have, our workforce will not download 10%. But the trend is not to increase.
The Land Bank that it intends to create will have this concern and will favor those who want to rent large properties?
> the Land Bank aims primarily rejuvenate the business fabric, which is very old.
Portugal is the EU country with more farmers over 64 years.
You need to rejuvenate. Today everything is done through the Internet, everything works for the market abroad, implies knowledge of technologies and knowledge of other languages and of course that an aging and low levels of education population is a major constraint to be overcome.
the agri-food sector has a number of organizations promoting internationalization. There is one for wine and one for innovation and one for the fruit and the CAP itself has an internationalization strategy. Portugal should not sell abroad with a single brand?
Compared to what we had 15 years ago, I would say that now there is a huge concentration. The sector realized this and organizations that exist today are the result of this awareness. It is clear that we must go further and gain more size but the battle is won from the moment that these steps were taken.
In his view there is no excess.
No. What is needed is greater joint efforts and increased joint action. But this is to check it out. I was in Berlin at Fruit Logistica and saw with satisfaction that the National Association of Pera Rocha was physically with the Portugal Fresh. There is a set of synergies to check it out.
created a crisis cabinet in pig production, which is struggling with low prices. What concrete measures have already left this working group?
has been very positive. It was possible to sit at the table and openly discuss the problems of the sector. The ministry was willing to help the farmers to create their interbranch organization because it is necessary to speak with one voice. Many of the problems also stem from this lack of organization. Successive meetings took effect and was, in fact, understanding of all parties. When I got to the Government the pork price was 1.05 euros per kilo and recently came to 1.22 euros. Although it is still too little and more has to be done but, above all, at European level. I have been active in this field, I participated in two councils, including the question and I joined other colleagues to force the European Commission to sit at the table at the last council in February, albeit informally. And we managed to score an extraordinary council to March 14 [Monday].
These measures complement the package that Brussels had already approved (and which allocated 4.8 million to Portugal)?
Brussels approved a package for pork and milk that the previous government allocated exclusively to milk. Let’s see now what measures to adopt, in addition to other steps that pass through the opening of new markets and, on the other hand, the attempt to solve the Russian embargo, which has had a major impact.
Do you believe that Russia will open an exception for pork and milk?
I have defended the need to find a peaceful solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that the parties to dialogue. Desirably do so without pressure. It would, therefore, in favor of a temporary suspension of the embargo.
short term as it can prevent close down farms?
Only there are three possible solutions:. or open new markets, or is a temporary public assistance to minimize the impact of the crisis or solutions to temporarily reduce production
said in Parliament is preparing a specific package for milk, although there is a lot of money
in the case of milk, in addition to the circumstances that we know happened other factors:. increased production and lower the consumption.
About the increase in production, knowing that milk quotas would end, why not down?
the great majority He determined the end of quotas conveyed the message that there was a production potential that was not being used and should be so for Europe to occupy foreign markets before others. As an MEP warned for this super optimistic. What would you expect is that those who so uncompromisingly defended this thesis would find now find some suitable production limit mechanisms. Those who remain intransigent are the most competitive countries and to whom the production reduction in less competitive does not displease.
One of the action plan of measures for milk was launching an awareness campaign. When implemented?
There was an application [to EU funds] was approved and is able to be released. It is a positive but insufficient step. Domestically we will see what will be possible to affect the sector. What is the Government’s program is that, in the case of persistence of a negative situation in terms of price, should be envisaged for a sub-theme program for milk under the second pillar of the CAP. It is a matter that will not fail to appear in the PDR reprogramming process that we do.
Other countries, like France, have placed the responsibility to raise prices in the major distribution sector. Agree
We all know that there is a great disproportion of forces between large retailers – which is now responsible for a high percentage of sales of agricultural and food products – and the production, which is more disorganized and atomized. This is why the relationship between this chain has to be fair and balanced. And the states have to introduce effective regulatory mechanisms that until now, from my point of view, have not completely fulfilled this role. The European Commission recently came forward with a case against large distribution companies in France by excessive protectionism. It makes sense in terms of fair competition that supply is locally, but some news cast us concern about how the rules of the single market are to be interpreted. In the Portuguese case, it is not for the Government to interfere in the free market but to draw attention to some less correct business practices. That is why the previous government created, and well, the PARCA (Relations Monitoring Platform in the Agri-Food Chain), that I intend to continue.
The PARCA effective?
I am particularly pleased with the results of PARCA but I think that the initiative is positive and we already have a meeting scheduled for 29 March. it is a platform that does not work since May of the year past.
said that the regulation has not been effective. Will make changes to the current law?
I’m at a stage where privilege cooperation. I understand that production is aware that it needs the retail industry and the large distribution needs of production. There are positive initiatives, companies with domestic producers contratualizam the flow of production and others that even in private label products identify the national origin. In general, large retailers have responded to this call identification of origin. I continue to make every effort to ensure that this relationship is the best of all and not to take retaliatory measures.
In the case of pork, which is be made on the label? There are cases of labels that advertise “national pig” when it’s actually shot in Spain …
This is a serious infringement, since a foreign product can not be labeled as Portuguese. The case you mentioned is an exception.
But the truth is that only after the crisis in the pig began to see the information stores on the origin of the meat.
This resulted crisis cabinet and was one of the measures taken up by the large distribution.
and when the elaboration of a code of good practice?
This issue is on the agenda of the next meeting of PARCA. One of the main functions of PARCA is to achieve good results in this area. I wish you could be consensually approved as soon as possible.
Food security fee launched by the previous government is to keep?
Yes of course.
the state owed large sums of money to the company that makes the collection of animal carcasses, funded activity rate. The debts are all settled?
We are settling these payments and could also settle accounts with the organizations of livestock producers who are responsible for animal health and a year ago had late payments. The state debt was in the region of four million euros. We paid in December and 2.3 million by the end of March we will pay the rest.
The Government will cancel the law that transforms the Douro House in a private body without mandatory registration, as or PCP?
the former Casa do Douro was a public association and, under the law, laws on public associations is the exclusive competence of the National Assembly (RA). This matter is in RA and the Government is awaiting a ruling on it and respect its decisions.
What is your opinion about the process of the Casa do Douro?
I think it was a very unhappy and botched process. The court had declared unconstitutional some rules on how it was found to settle the debts and the way found to represent the Douro agriculture is also a contentious process. The previous government acted hastily, on the elections, and with little weight, with negative consequences for peace and tranquility in the Douro, which so needs it.
No comments:
Post a Comment