APROSERPA – Association of Farmers of the Left Bank of the Guadiana expressed concern about production costs, fuel prices, cereal subsidies and Natura 2000 Network restrictions. The association, which brings together agricultural producers from Serpa, in the district of Beja, met with the vice-presidency of the Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) of Alentejo to present its concerns and demands. One of the main alerts concerns the production costs of rainfed cereals, noting that producing rainfed cereal has costs that can no longer be ignored.
Regarding agricultural diesel, the association demands the creation of an automatic and predictable mechanism for price stabilization, complemented by a specific energy component for crops such as rainfed cereals. APROSERPA argues that the agricultural sector needs predictability to make campaign decisions, and cannot continue to bear extraordinary measures only after the increases have already affected farms. The association chose the institutional path and presented proposals and technical data, but warns that this does not mean silence in the field.
The meeting at the CCDR of Alentejo also served for the association to present work on the Natura 2000 Network and other classified areas of the left bank of the Guadiana, covering territories such as the Guadiana Valley, Serra de Serpa, Ficalho and Moura/Barrancos. Among the issues raised are the proportionality of the imposed restrictions and the transparency of the respective economic assessment. The association intends to obtain the demonstration of the mechanization and energy costs used by the administration, the calculation basis for the current 104 euros per hectare and the creation of a permanent mechanism for stabilizing agricultural diesel.
APROSERPA presented two technical studies during the meeting: one on rainfed cereals, production costs and the impact of agricultural diesel prices, and another on the restrictions of the Natura 2000 Network and classified areas. The documents were forwarded to the Ministry of Agriculture. Among the other demands are a safeguard clause for exceptional climate situations, the review of cereal marketing rules, the official recognition of self-consumption on farms and the review of Natura 2000 compensation values.
