EU. Minister defends change in legislation

The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, said this Thursday that there is “nonsense at the level of the European Union” regarding the legislation and added that it must be changed.

The minister, who was speaking at the seventh Conference for Competitiveness promoted by the Federation of Portuguese Agri-Food Industries (FIPA) under the motto “Feeding the Economy” and which took place at the Belém Cultural Center (CCB), also questioned the fact that “drones cannot be used for spraying” and recalled that “robotics is essential”. During his speech, the minister also said that agriculture is not only “strategic but also structural” and reiterated the need for research in the sector as well as digitalization.

Still on the importance of agriculture, the minister said that “agriculture is also a defence” and reiterated that it is essential to have contingency plans taking into account the possibility of new pests or even “new blackouts”. “Faced with new challenges such as new pandemics, which may or may not result from climate conditions and changes, we have to be prepared”, he added. Another problem that the minister raised was the lack of insurance for agriculture in Portugal. “In Portugal, we have a failure in the insurance market, and it was essential that there be a European guarantee at European level so that there could be national guarantees, and then insurance that was much cheaper”, he said.

Regarding other problems, the minister highlighted the birth rate, which he says has “brutal consequences” and that this issue has not yet been properly understood. “Nobody talks about the birth rate. Fortunately, we live much longer, but fewer and fewer children are being born and we will therefore need to have immigrants,” said the minister.