The president of the Liberal Initiative (IL) said this Tuesday, in Santarém, that the Government’s announced intention to double cereal production in the country is to “deceive some” and “makes no sense”.
João Cotrim Figueiredo visited this Tuesday the 58th National Agricultural Fair/68th Ribatejo Fair, which takes place until Sunday at the National Center for Agricultural Exhibitions and Markets (CNEMA), in Santarém, on a trip that aimed to confirm that agriculture “has been the poor relative of the Portuguese economy”.
For the leader of IL, the intention announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Maria do Céu Antunes, to double the production of cereals in the country “does not make sense”, firstly because “there are much more profitable crops in Portugal”, secondly because the food autonomy, which is talked about as a result of the war in Ukraine, “is not defined in a country” and, thirdly, because there is no storage infrastructure and strategic reserve of cereals in the country.
For these three reasons, it would never be a priority in an agricultural policy that is well thought out in terms of the future and strategically. It is an advertisement to deceive some, but it does not convince us, ”he declared.
Cotrim Figueiredo affirmed that agriculture “has been the poor relative of the Portuguese economy”, due to the little attention it has received, that is, “with the loss of political weight of the Ministry of Agriculture over the years and with a series of erratic decisions.
IL President highlighted the export nature of Portuguese agriculturethe fact that it is “very dependent on innovation, something that many people are not aware of”, and that it is “attractive to many young people who want to apply this innovative knowledge and technology to agriculture”.
However, he defended, it is necessary that “there are no obstacles, neither regulation nor taxes nor State interference, so that it can develop sufficiently.”
Cotrim Figueiredo pointed to the example of the National Land Exchange, regretting that so far only a dozen pieces of land have been traded and very few leased, which he attributed to the way in which the instrument was built, taking into account the interests of the State. and not the farmers.
“Once again, it is an intention that ends up falling apart completely because it is not thought from the perspective of those who can benefit from it, but from the perspective of the State that seems to control everything in Portugal,” he said.
For Cotrim Figueiredo, it is essential that those who have innovative projects, especially young people trained in this area, have land where they can materialize “the will to do something different”, so the exchange of land “must be rethought from top to bottom and put at the service of the farmers who need it.
The leader of IL said that the complaints that are heard from the peasants always collide with the bureaucracy and the difficulties imposed by the State.
“It’s an accumulation of old concerns that won’t go away. Governments change, common agrarian policies change, the framework changes and we always continue to put weights and regulations on those who want to do things and new economic activity that makes people give up”, he added, defending that “making things easier, simpler” must be “a design and a priority”.
The National Agricultural Fair, which was inaugurated on Saturday by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, is being held this year under the slogan “Welcome to the Future” and highlights innovation and technology.
Source: Observadora
