Farmers call it "nonsense" that the government wants to buy a 6 million dollar farm to conduct agricultural research.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment wants to purchase a farm in Mallorca to conduct agricultural research and experimentation, with a maximum budget of six million euros. Farmers complain that this money is not being allocated to the agricultural sector, which, they say, "is suffering from a very large budget deficit."

"Farmers have other basic needs," says Xisco Llompart, president of the Balearic Council of Agricultural and Organic Production (CBPAE), who considers this government-intended purchase "a complete nonsense." "The experiments carried out so far have yielded the same result: a debt for farmers," he emphasizes. Furthermore, it should be noted that this investment of up to six million euros is intended to be made at a time when the primary sector is concerned about the cuts to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) proposed by the European Commission for the period between 2028 and 2034. To purchase the property, the Regional Ministry has opened a tender, and the owners... Furthermore, sources in the primary sector consulted by ARA Baleares consider the conditions imposed by the Government to be "very specific" and "tailor-made." The specifications specify that the property must be located in Mallorca, must have good connections to the main agricultural areas, must have a minimum of 48 hectares of usable agricultural land (40 of which must be irrigated) with a slope of less than 2.5%, and must have a water supply suitable for...

Farmers consulted by this newspaper criticize the fact that, with these "closed and directed" conditions, the Government "only gives the opportunity to apply to the large holders" and point out that the initiative "could have been done differently." However, they make it clear that they are not against conducting research and experimentation.

For her part, the manager of the Institute for Agri-Food and Fisheries Research and Training of the Balearic Islands (IRFAP), Georgina Brunet, clarifies that "all the conditions have a meaning." "The technicians have reviewed everything in detail, taking into account the experiments we want to carry out on the farm and the samples that must be recorded. It is not designed for anyone in particular," she adds, explaining that the Government does not know if it will apply to anyone or if the conditions will have to be re-evaluated. However, she insists that the initial requirements "are what is really needed." Furthermore, he explains that the government cannot use its existing public farms to carry out this research work because "they do not have the appropriate conditions."

Brunet also emphasizes that the information obtained by other autonomous communities from their research farms cannot be used on the islands because the island factor is not taken into account there. "We cannot say that they research others; science is key," he insists. Regarding the research that will be carried out on the farm, Brunet explains that they will study the resistance mechanisms of plants planted to different levels of stress, among other activities. These initiatives aim to increase "the economic profitability of agricultural holdings."