The National Confederation of Agriculture has proposed a set of measures to support production losses.
The National Confederation of Agriculture (CNA) argued this Thursday that the political choices of successive governments are responsible for the lack of water in the Algarve and Alentejo and proposed a set of measures, such as support for production losses.
“The crisis plaguing the Algarve (and the Alentejo), such as the lack of water, materializes the absence of work and strategic policy that prioritizes the populations and is especially serious in a region where this situation was predicted decades ago. The crisis in the south of the country has its own culprits: the political choices of successive governments,” the CNA said in a statement.
The confederation highlighted the “failure to implement the National Irrigation Plan” and the announced cuts in supply, using “the usual tricks”.
For the CNA, the restrictions have to be across the board for all economic activities and equitable, valuing what is essential to the lives of the region’s populations.
The government has announced a series of measures to deal with the drought in the Algarve and Alentejo, such as reducing urban consumption in the region by 15% compared to the previous year.
As far as agricultural supply is concerned, a 50% cut is planned in the volume licensed for irrigation in the Sotavento hydro-agricultural perimeter, a reduction of around 40% in the volume used for irrigation from the Funcho reservoir and a 15% drop in groundwater abstraction for irrigation.
The CNA noted that cutting off supplies could be a “death sentence” for many farms.
The farmers therefore propose that producer organizations be heard in the various forums, namely the Permanent Commission for the Prevention, Monitoring and Follow-up of the Effects of Drought.
On the other hand, it demands that all farmers be guaranteed irrigation water, support for emergency animal feed and watering, as well as modulated, flat-rate and non-repayable support for production losses.
The CNA wants support measures for the installation of water-efficient equipment and infrastructure, awareness-raising actions for new practices and management to be fully funded for farms.
The confederation is also calling for work to be carried out to guarantee water supplies for the population and for agriculture, as well as plans for the maintenance and recovery of the supply and irrigation systems.