The Minister of Agriculture, Maria do Céu Albuquerque, visited last Friday a farm and a producer organization in the municipality of Fundão, dedicated to the production of cherries, to closely accompany the harvesting of the fruit. The Cova da Beira region is considered one of the largest cherry production areas nationwide.

The morning began with a visit to the Frutas Salvado farm, where the holder of the Agriculture portfolio participated in the cherry harvest. At the headquarters of one of the largest cherry producer organizations in Portugal, Cerfundão, the Minister of Agriculture accompanied the team responsible for the cherry packing and calibration process.

In this context, Maria do Céu Albuquerque addressed the effects of adverse weather conditions on production: “Regarding the storms that devastated this region, where the cherry is produced, there are insurance policies that are 60% covered with public funds. However, we also know that these insurances do not record the level of adherence that would be desirable. The created Technical Commission, in which the sectors are represented, will meet soon to discuss crop insurance, to continue this essential work, ensuring that the insurance conditions meet the needs of farmers. ”

The head of the Agriculture portfolio also warned about the importance of producers to organize "to gain scale and also have more negotiating capacity and a broader perspective of foreign trade."

It should be noted that the Ministry of Agriculture is monitoring the entire cherry campaign and, in dialogue with the sector, studying solutions to mitigate the effects of adverse weather conditions that affected production this year.

Therefore, Maria do Céu Albuquerque also revealed that the possibility of creating a subsidized line of credit is being studied to help producers who have suffered a severe loss of income, caused by adverse weather conditions.

Given the context marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister of Agriculture recalled the package of measures announced last Saturday, highlighting the transfer, of an exceptional nature, between pillars, with the allocation of the financial envelope 2021-27, for an amount of 85 million euros, will be applied to direct payments in the 2020 campaign.

This instrument, under evaluation by the European Commission, is designed to benefit all farmers, but with positive discrimination in support of small farmers, introducing a principle of marked degressivity. He also stressed that the negotiation of a proposal by the European Commission, which will follow its inter-institutional circuit by the Council and the European Parliament, is ongoing on the possibility of new measures to support the affected sectors, using the Rural Development Program, Measure COVID FEADER, which can eventually mobilize 35 million euros.