Bruno Santana, a farmer from Lanzarote, criticizes that the Government of the Canary Islands "has no intention of launching the subsidy known as agro-environment and climate", a subsidy that aims at commitments related to beekeeping, the cultivation of prickly pear trees for the production of cochineal or the improvement of gavias, among other purposes. Also, support for the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources in agriculture.
Santana has addressed the Department of Agriculture of the Haría City Council, the Department of Agriculture of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the General Directorate of Agriculture of the Government of the Canary Islands to ask for explanations regarding the alleged cancellation of this aid.
"The subsidy, whose sole function is to help maintain the island's agricultural landscape, was scarce but helped farmers maintain expenses such as phytosanitary products or irrigation water," says Santana.
For this reason, the farmer asks that it be explained why this aid has supposedly been withdrawn. "I request that the cause of this denial to obtain it and the destination that has been given to said economic item be exposed to the sector, since, as is well known, at the current date, of maximum drought, where it is observed as examples that this year the result of the harvest will be catastrophic, harvesting five times less than usual," he claims.
"Due to the drought, there will be the abandonment of agricultural areas without access to water, such as the wine-growing areas of the Costa de Tinajo or Los Rasos in Haría, where the maintenance of agriculture is impossible, since to date the workers in the sector were elderly people who maintained the field for a small profit but that allowed them to fill a piggy bank with which to help the family," warns Santana.
Likewise, the farmer argues that in his case he has lost "one hundred percent of the black potato seed, to wrinkle, by the rabbits, and the millet crop has been destroyed by the crows."
The farmer demands that it be "made public if there is any intention of launching the agro-environment and climate subsidy this year 2024, and if not, to expose what measures they have for this year to fight against the consequences of climate change on the agricultural sector." Finally, he asks the Councilor of the Area to "defend the interests of the municipal sector."
