Balearic farmers concerned about cuts in agricultural aid

The European Commission has proposed reducing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by €86 billion for the period between 2028 and 2034, which in the Balearic Islands could translate into a "loss of close to €15 million per year," according to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment, Joan Simonet. Farmers in the Balearic Islands are concerned about the proposed "fairly serious" cut in European aid, according to the president of the Association of Organic Agricultural Production of Mallorca (Apaema), Miquel Coll.

In his opinion, this reduction will affect "mainly small and medium-sized farms" because the CAP is paid based on the area worked by each farmer. "We don't know how all this will turn out," he emphasizes.

Furthermore, Coll explains that, if the cuts are implemented, "the very important line that subsidizes Rural Development Programs will be dismantled." Furthermore, he emphasizes that, without aid, farmers "will not be able to make" investments such as renewing machinery.

For his part, the coordinator of Unió de Pagesos, Joan Gaià, downplays the cuts, although he admits that they could affect "many people." What worries him most are those who have never entered this European aid system.

In addition to the primary sector, the Government is also waiting to see what Europe decides. In fact, the Minister of Agriculture has sent two letters to the European Commissioners for Agriculture and Fisheries, Cristophe Hansen and Costas Kadis, denouncing the negative effects of the cuts on the primary sector of the Islands.

Simonet conveyed to Europe that "this budget reduction not only represents a significant economic setback, but also distorts the essence of the CAP as a common, strategic, and cohesive policy of the European Union." He added that "turning this line of aid into a simple form of income support, contingent on compliance with environmental practices, compromises its fundamental role in the economic, social, and territorial sustainability of rural Europe."