CÓRDOBA, June 25. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The delegate of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of the Junta de Andalucía in Córdoba, Francisco Acosta, has reported on the latest aid and calls within the scope of his Ministry for the agricultural and livestock sector in the province of Córdoba, with more of 80 million euros in aid for agri-environmental and ecological projects in the next five years.
As the Andalusian Government has indicated in a note, in this sense, Acosta has highlighted the incentives for incorporating innovations and the modernization of agricultural farms, especially in the olive sector, since it is the main crop in the province. .
Thus, he pointed out that this aid “constitutes a strategic pillar of the agricultural policy of the Andalusian Government in its commitment to competitiveness and for this sector to continue being the epicenter of our economy, maintaining its leadership in international markets.”
This line was endowed with a budget of 60 million euros for Andalusia and, due to the demand from ranchers and farmers to innovate, improve their farms and introduce more efficient and sustainable technologies, the Ministry of Agriculture expanded the budget with 45 million euros. further.
The territorial delegate explained that there has been a second increase in credit “in an additional 20 million euros to respond to the needs of the sector, which has benefited 72 new farms in the province, with an amount that is around 3.45 million of euros, which means an average aid of almost 50,000 euros for each of the productive units”.
Acosta explained that, within this aid, “the province has benefited from the generic line, for all types of production, and the specific line for olive groves.” In the first case, 31 cases have been resolved favorably, with aid of 1.61 million euros, while, in the second, there have been 41 beneficiaries with aid of 1.84 million euros.
By region, Los Pedroches has been the main beneficiary with 18 projects, followed by Subbética with 16, Campiña Sur with eleven, Vega del Guadalquivir with ten, Valle del Guadiato with eight, Guadajoz and Campiña Este with five and Alto Guadalquivir with four.
Between the initial budget and the credit extensions of this line, 478 farmers and ranchers have benefited, with aid of 26.16 million euros. In the generic line, there have been 308 beneficiaries with aid of 19.23 million euros, while in the olive grove line, 170 producers have obtained aid with 6.93 million euros.
Regarding the call for aid for preventive measures against natural disasters, climatic adversities and catastrophes, Acosta has indicated that “it is aimed at livestock farmers who carry out investments and expenses to reduce the consequences that their farms may suffer in drought situations.”
The budget amounts to five million euros for Andalusia and the application submission period will be open until July 18. The aid will reach up to 80 percent of the eligible investment, and the maximum amount of the subsidy will be 20,000 euros per beneficiary.
In the last call, aid has been resolved for 240 Cordoba livestock farmers with a total of 1.58 million euros, as explained by the Agriculture delegate, who has encouraged these professionals to participate in the call, in cases of acquiring deposits. of water for livestock, tanks for transporting water, watering troughs, or pipes necessary for the distribution of water.
The link to the aid can be found on the website ‘https://juntadeandalucia.es/servicios/sede/tramites/procedim…’.
SUPPORT FOR VETERINARY PROGRAMS
Likewise, Francisco Acosta commented that this past Monday, June 24, the BOJA has published the new call for aid for the execution of national veterinary programs by the Livestock Health Defense Associations (ADSG) on a non-competitive basis.
Until July 15, the ADSG can request compensation for the costs of the execution of measures included in the national veterinary programs for eradication, control or surveillance of diseases during 2023, “to support the effort made by these professionals to achieve a situation optimal health of the livestock herd with a budget of 450,000 euros,” explained the delegate.
The link to these grants can be found on the website ‘https://juntadeandalucia.es/servicios/sede/tramites/procedim…’
AGRO-ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL AID
Another line that increases its budget, as the delegate has reported, is that referring to the items for agro-environmental and ecological aid. “The applications have exceeded forecasts, which demonstrates the commitment of the province’s farmers and ranchers to sustainability,” he added.
The Board has already expanded the credit available for agri-environmental aid by 150.6 million euros for Andalusia, and now it has been increased by almost 50 million euros more to reach more than 533. This is the call that was published last year for the period 2023-2027, and 515 million euros are allocated to agri-environmental and ecological aid, for five years, and another 18 for areas with natural limitations, for one year.
The Agriculture delegate has announced that the province is a leader in organic agriculture with almost 281,000 hectares, 159,600 of pastures and 42,800 of olive groves, among the most notable. In a single year the area has grown again by 13 percent. In the last olive season, the province produced 8.8 million kilos of organic olive oil.
With this call for aid, Córdoba will receive 46.7 million euros for maintenance of ecological surface, in which support has been prioritized for farmers and ranchers who have been practicing organic farming, receiving this type of aid and who constitute 80 percent of requests.
Regarding the conversion to organic farming, these aid constitute 62.6 percent of the requests, as reported by the delegate. In the coming years, 29.8 million euros will be paid, after the two budget increases carried out.
Acosta has highlighted that, in the agricultural and livestock farms in the north, which combine herbaceous and organic pastures, all pastures in conversion have been admitted, with no surface limit. At the same time, he has highlighted the effort in olive grove conversion, which reaches 95 percent of the amounts of the first stratum, the first 40 hectares.
Córdoba will receive 26.2 percent of the conversion amounts, the first province in Andalusia in this line, in addition to 20 percent of the aid to maintain organic farming in Andalusia. In total, there are 76.5 million euros for the next five years in the province, 15.3 million per year.
Within these agri-environmental aid, for the first time there is a specific one for dryland herbaceous crops, with aid of 2.16 million euros allocated. Aid for cotton will be around 499,000 euros, along with an amount for beekeeping that will be around 831,000 euros, and almost half a million allocated to the promotion of native breeds.
In total, almost four million euros in agri-environmental for the 2023/2027 period, an increase compared to the three million euros initially planned for the credit extension. The Agriculture delegate has indicated that the payments corresponding to the first year will be made before June 30.
