Controversy in Aragon over the suspension of rural development plans

In recent months, we have discussed various rural development plans and incentives for investment in improving agricultural infrastructure, especially in the protected crop sector. However, this time we have heard reports of protests from rural Aragon regarding the suspension of rural development plans, which had been previously agreed upon with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MARM) under the Sustainable Development Law. The MARM argues that this suspension will prevent the regions from increasing their public deficits. As a result, the first three regions to submit their development plans—Aragon, Asturias, and Navarre—have seen their implementation halted, while the remaining regions, if they submit their plans before September 30, will see their funding cut by 20 percent.

These plans, which in Aragon were developed by region, had a budget of €1.810 billion for all of Spain from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MARM) and another €1.810 billion from the autonomous communities over four years, of which Aragon would receive approximately €144 million. While this aid was not exclusively aimed at the development of the agricultural sector, we wanted to highlight this event as a possible indicator that does not bode well for the competitive development of Spanish agriculture.

The counterpoint to this news can be found in other stories already discussed here in previous months: the greenhouse modernization plan in Andalusia, or the Rural Development Program in Murcia, which has incorporated a new sub-measure into its action plan aimed at modernizing and improving the performance of greenhouses used for tomato production. Let's hope that the current crisis doesn't deplete public coffers so much that news like this, so desperately needed by agricultural producers, becomes a thing of the past.

Read more at: http://www.europapress.es/aragon/noticia-barrena-iu-exige-gobierno-aragon-explique-suspension-planes-desarrollo-rural-sostenible-20110705140529.html