Simonet accuses Damm of "playing with farmers and workers" over the closure of Agama

PalmThe Minister of Agriculture, Joan Simonet, has been summoned to Parliament to answer questions about the closure of Agama, the Balearic Islands' main dairy company. In a debate marked by opposition criticism of the Ministry's management, Simonet lashed out at the Damm Group for causing the closure with its "erratic pricing policy." "I'm left wondering what this group's word is worth and what their real commitment to these islands is," he lamented. "What cannot be allowed is to play games with the sector, with the farmers, and with the workers," he asserted.

Simonet reviewed the situation at Agama and the instances in which the government has intervened. He argued that since the Bordoy group was integrated into the multinational, the historic dairy company has had less connection to the Balearic Islands. At the same time, the number of supplier dairy farmers has also decreased, and part of the production has been relocated. Furthermore, he said, the company's commercial strategy has also changed. "Damm has abandoned any idea of ​​promoting milk while spending millions on beer promotion, neglecting the oreca sector, where it had a larger market share, and offering milk from its own group sourced from the mainland," he lamented. "They've gone from demanding more production from farmers to limiting it due to market decisions that didn't take into account the realities of the region," the regional minister insisted.

"You can't ask farmers to invest and increase production and then reduce milk collection, relocate production, and abandon the promotion of local products," he lamented. After explaining that the government had foreseen the possibility of Agama's closure for years, Simonet maintained that he had held constant meetings with farmers and workers. Furthermore, the department imposed sanctions on certain dairy contracts and offered the possibility of implementing a public-private partnership project as an alternative.

"The Government has done its job," he argued. In this regard, he announced that the Ministry will invest five million euros in promoting new strategic projects in the agri-food sector through funds raised from the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS).

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For their part, the left criticized the lack of self-criticism from the Balearic Government. "Neither you nor your director general (Fernando Fernández) have done your job," criticized Ferran Rosa of MÉS per Mallorca. "Dairy farms have been closing for years, the Damm group has been progressively reducing its legally mandated purchases, and alarm bells are ringing," he stated. "The distribution of milk to schools under the school purchasing program has been nonexistent for two years." "Weren't the alarm bells ringing?" he asked. "Agama is closing, as have S'Esplet and Piema," he insisted. "Who knows what else will close before they get to work?"

The deputy spokesperson for the PSIB, Marc Pons, echoed this sentiment, blaming the government for failing to save the company. "The minister promised to develop an agricultural plan and hasn't even called us to a meeting," he lamented. He also criticized the Ministry of Agriculture for not joining forces with the Ministry of Industry to find a joint solution. "They haven't given us any explanation; what we've seen is resignation towards the death of the dairy sector in Mallorca," he said. On behalf of Unides Podem, José María García asked the Ministry how it will recover the money it gave to Damm in the form of subsidies "if there was a commitment to maintain production, which isn't going to happen," and why "the workforce's project" to keep Agama as a cooperative wasn't accepted.

Vox is absent from the debate

Despite Vox's claims of having voters among the agricultural sector and its agricultural program, the far-right parliamentary group boycotted the debate en masse and, in fact, refused to even speak. The Vox benches remained empty throughout the regional minister's appearance. This was highlighted by former Vox deputy (now independent) Xisco Cardona in a tweet. "They're talking about the countryside and farmers, milk, cows, and cheese: the Minister of Agriculture appears, the Vox members flee, and only those who defend Menorca's countryside remain," he said.

"We've heard Vox tear their hair out over agriculture countless times," Pons also criticized. "Now we have an important, crucial debate, and not a single Vox deputy has the courage to show their face," he asserted.