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Minister Pedro Álava: The last two governments dedicated themselves to giving handouts (to agriculture) to keep them calm

In a little more than a month of management, the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock ensures that it accelerates the processes of change in the agricultural sector.

On September 15, Pedro Alava took the reins of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), amid road closures, demonstrations and the resignation of his predecessor, Minister Tanlly Vera, who was less than four months in office. Álava, a master’s degree in Irrigation and Drainage from the University of California, Davis, United States, tells Diario EL UNIVERSO his work plan and priorities for agriculture.

In the five months of the government of President Guillermo Lasso, the majority of complaints have come from agriculture. What is the reason for the dissatisfaction of this sector that has already cost the regime the resignation of its Prime Minister of Agriculture?

The agricultural sector has been one of the most neglected. The last two governments – the ten years of Rafael Correa and the four years of Lenín Moreno – said that there was a debt with agriculture, but unfortunately they did nothing to change. They dedicated themselves to giving gifts to keep them calm, but they did not make structural reforms, as is what the sector needs to develop and contribute. We inherited this debt, and now we are working on a plan to support all agricultural producers.

What went wrong with the former head of MAG (former minister Tanlly Vera), why did she resign?

All of us go through cycles. We appreciate all the work done by the former minister, and now we are going to comply with the provision given by the head of state: to accelerate the processes of change in the agricultural sector, with technique and science.

Government appoints new authorities in two ministries, two governorates and two institutions

What are the axes of its management?

We have a work plan that includes important topics, such as irrigation, mechanization and industrialization, commercialization, credits, training in added value, promotion of land titling, diversification of production and streamlining of procedures.

What will be strengthened or changed from the previous administration?

As a government, we seek spaces for dialogue, but also for action, with strategies that favor the development of the agro-productive sectors with irrigation, modernization and financing from the hand of BanEcuador, which will soon be the National Development Bank.

We will work on traceability, to adapt to new markets that seek organic and quality production; Thus, we will strengthen this process from production to commercialization. We think of the small producer, the peasant family agriculture that requires more support to grow and with the support of international cooperation, programs will be developed to promote their development.

What has your management focused on since September 15 to date at the head of the Ministry?

We have identified the priority and important issues that must be addressed, projects and programs that must be strengthened such as irrigation and marketing, we manage internationally the purchase of surplus rice.

What is the global policy for the reactivation of agriculture? It is always said that it is an important sector, but it is the most forgotten.

Interaction and work together with our producers to meet their priority needs. The agricultural sector is key to the social, economic and even cultural development of the country. We work for a prosperous, competitive, sustainable and inclusive agriculture, based on innovation and differentiation by quality, oriented to the demands of national and international markets, under the concept of quality and sustainable, guaranteeing food security and sovereignty and promoting the exports; agriculture will be managed with a comprehensive territorial development approach, value chain and agri-food system from production to consumption, and follow our commitment to have more Ecuador in the world and more world in Ecuador.

The fixing of minimum support prices is one of the main complaints of rice farmers, who assure that during the campaign President Lasso promised to set the price at $ 35. Is there technical support to support this argument, is a review possible?

In relation to support prices, it depends on the level of technology. Greater modernization implies more investment, but at the same time higher productive yields, which defines unit production costs much lower than production systems without modernization. For this reason, we work in a technical, participatory and consensual manner in order to establish the minimum support prices, taking into consideration that we will always be in favor of the small farmer and the Ecuadorian peasant.

Hence, pricing is technical and both the cost of production and a profit are considered. The analysis considered the costs exposed in the Technical Rice Table in which the producers participated (structure that corresponds to a technical system) and the production costs raised by the MAG (structure that corresponds to a semi-technical system), being the system of semi-technical rice cultivation, the most representative nationwide, considering the main producing provinces, Guayas, Los Ríos and Manabí; In addition, the profit margin that allows rice farmers to cover their production costs and obtain a reasonable profit in accordance with the national reality was considered.

Tanlly Vera leaves MAG amid farmers protests over rice prices

One of the main promises of President Lasso was to give 1,000 million in loans at 1% interest and a 30-year term. How is this process going, when and with what amount will these credits begin to be given?

According to planning, the support will arrive for the month of January. The problem is that we have encountered bureaucratic realities, we must qualify new authorities of the future National Development Bank and once we have this, we will start with the credits.

How is the management going for the importation of material resistant to Fusarium raza 4 by the Government and at what stage are the initiatives of the private sector?

On July 23, 2021, the national COE resolved “to accept the presidential disposition so that from now on the problem related to the threat of the plague be dealt with in the National Emergency Operations Committee. Fusarium raza 4 as a potential risk for the banana sector and its impact on the productive sector and employment, which in the context of the pandemic would have an impact on the country’s economy …

Based on the aforementioned resolution, “FOC R4T provincial technical tables” were established, where two topics are analyzed: research and national protocols. The research table deals with the production of materials with tolerance or resistance to FOC R4T.

How are you going to control that the cultivation of cannabis reaches the objective you want?

We have Ministerial Agreement 109 issued on October 19, 2020, to promote regulated and formal production. It is supported with training and assistance to interested parties, having to date a total of 62 licenses.

We are in the phase of establishing control processes, training MAG staff and providing the necessary inputs for control at the national level.

Regarding the controls carried out by the ministry, the technical team reviews the license applications that are entered and inspections are carried out in the field, the companies that are under licensing and the complaints that are received. Currently, most of the companies are carrying out works to adapt the land, construction of greenhouses and other work prior to planting.

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