MÁLAGA, 16 Aug. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, assessed this Tuesday the Government’s measures against the drought and advocated collaboration with all public administrations to improve current water availability. “I hope that instead of controversies, we join forces,” he added.
On the other hand, he advocated investing in sustainable irrigation and the use of reclaimed water, since, in his opinion, “it is a fundamental element, because it is not about irrigation yes or no, it is about making good use of water and in that task is the Government of Spain and the Ministry that I direct”.
Planas, after being questioned by journalists, has stressed that agriculture and irrigation are “fundamental” and are “the jewel in the crown”, since they represent 22.4% of the total agricultural area of ??Spain, but produce , practically, two thirds, therefore, its preservation is “fundamental”.
“In each place the responses are different, we are working basin by basin in relation to the responses and, obviously, in what refers to both the Mediterranean basins in Andalusia, as well as that of the Guadalquivir, the problems are probably the most acute “.
Therefore, about what can be done, he said that “one can and must invest, on the one hand, in sustainable irrigation”, recalling that the Government, in the next six years, is going to invest 2,150 million euros. “It constitutes four times more than in the previous period, to allow each drop of water to have the greatest possible use.” Second, he continued, “shorter term, and very interesting,” is “the use of reclaimed water.”
Questioned, specifically, about meetings with the communities to address the problem of the drought, he said that the Government has already met with them, and has accused some communities that are asking for it of having “a very weak memory”. “On March 4 the drought table met, it met again in March, we have constituted a permanent group, which is carrying out the monitoring of the different hydrographic basins; we adopted the royal decree law where there are fiscal, social and investment related to the drought”, he recalled.
In this sense, he has alluded to the IBI exemption in farms affected by at least 30% of their yields, the decrease in modules, the decrease in the number of days for laborers, from the social point of view, among others, in addition to facilitating new funds for liquidity of the companies or investment measures in relation to the different basins on the hydraulic works in progress.
Thus, he has stressed that “there is work in progress, there is more to discuss and more to do, we must see it basin by basin, and we are willing to collaborate with all public administrations to improve the water availability we have”.
Finally, he pointed out that “the issue is very simple, we are in a time and situation of climate change, some deny it because they have bad companies that force them to deny the existence of climate change, but here we have to do two things, first , fight climate change, stop temperatures from rising, which is bad for everyone.”
Secondly, he added, “taking into account that we have the phenomenon there, how to respond, how we adapt, how we manage to take advantage of every drop of water, and work. That is the task and I hope that instead of polemics, we join forces in this sense, which is the position of the Government and the minister who is speaking to you”, he concluded.
