The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, stated on Thursday, August 31, during a visit to the Izaña Agricultural Transformation Society (SAT), in the municipality of Güímar in Tenerife, that the regional government is committed to supporting and increasing local production to reduce the archipelago's dependence on foreign products. He explained that during this legislature, the Executive intends to focus on the primary sector, which is "an absolutely strategic activity". He also acknowledged that this is a complicated time for farmers and stockbreeders, and said they would work on specific measures and provide aid to Canarian producers.
"There is a lot of technology, talent, economic investment, and effort in the Canary Islands. We produce quality food, which is less contaminated than the from outside and meets all the quality conditions and health guarantees, which is why the administrations and consumers must support and protect local products," he said.
According to Rafael Hernández, the president of the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural Organizations of the Canary Islands (COAG), “local production in the Canary Islands is more necessary than ever to achieve a reasonable level of food sovereignty." To achieve this, we must "continue to increase zero kilometer production to be able to cover our food needs without depending so much on foreign trade, which has repercussions for consumers and producers," he stressed.
Regarding potato imports from England, Narvay Quintero, the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food Sovereignty said "European countries have closed their borders to prevent the entry of the pest that affects this tuber. A beetle that jeopardizes the consumption of an essential food for the Canary Islands, which should make us reflect on the need to support local production.”
“The Minister explained that negotiations are underway with the Government Delegation and the Ministry, which are responsible for this matter, to allow the import of potatoes from other parts of the UK where, according to EPPO, the Colorado potato beetle is not present, like Northern Ireland or Wales, an important action for the entry potatoes for consumption into the Canary Islands and, most important, seed potatoes, which arrive in the Canary Islands at this time of the year and come mainly from these areas."
Source: gobiernodecanarias.org