CONFAGRI asked the Portuguese Government to eliminate or significantly reduce the 20 cent difference in agricultural diesel prices compared to Spain, arguing that this disparity places national producers in a situation of competitive disadvantage. The confederation argues that energy and fuel costs have a determining weight in agricultural and agri-food production costs, making it unsustainable to demand that national farmers compete in the same market with significantly higher factor production costs.
The second priority of CONFAGRI relates to the future of the Common Agricultural Policy. The confederation warns that the European Commission's proposal points to a reduction of approximately 17% in the CAP financial allocation, which comes at a time when agriculture needed to increase investment. The organization proposes that Portugal fight for maintaining funding and that, additionally, at least 10% of the total allocation of national and regional partnership plans be destined for sustainable development and investment in the agricultural, forestry and bioeconomy sectors.
The third measure advocated by CONFAGRI is administrative simplification. The confederation points out that licensing, applications for public support, declarative obligations and multiple opinions increase context costs and delay investments. The organization proposes the creation of an effective simplification program, with fewer procedures, elimination of redundant obligations, greater coordination between public entities and clear deadlines for decisions.
The three proposals presented to the Government have a common objective: to ensure that Portuguese agriculture maintains conditions to invest and compete. For CONFAGRI, agriculture, forestry and bioeconomy are strategic sectors for the Portuguese economy, contributing to wealth and job creation, territorial preservation, reduction of external dependencies and the country's capacity to respond to future crises.
