As every year in the pre-harvest phase of coastal grains (rice, corn and soybeans), farmers continue to struggle with selling them, since they cannot find infrastructure for drying and storage – the state one has stopped working – so they are forced to resort to heartless intermediaries who do not respect the official prices, they are penalized by weight, moisture, quality and delayed payment. In addition, they must accept the application of a weighing system far from the international standards adopted by Ecuador, a member country of the International System of Units; however, there remain outdated parameters of the old decimal metric system or English quantities such as the pound, the use of which should be discontinued.

The problem was solved under the leadership of César Herrera Santos, from the National Federation of Maize Growers, who took advantage of the great sympathy and solidarity of the various regional and international unions in the sector, grouped under the acronym Fonagro Ecuador or Agricultural Forum, a huge gathering and credibility, but in addition their just position was not promptly treated, the authorities fell into legal disobedience, entering the field of unpunished crimes despite the documents and evidence showing the just position of the peasants. There is not even a polite response to the written and substantiated requests, opening space for a reaction that could lead to difficult-to-control mobilizations, inconvenient for everyone in the difficult times the nation is going through.

The viewpoints of peasants and their organizations should not be despised, since they contain truths that, if accepted, would help national economic development; It is necessary to deal with the petitions that have arrived in the presidential office, such as the so-called Quevedo declaration agreed at a large assembly in the agricultural center of that city, where some very sincere aspirations are contained, of which the final and practical adoption of the International System is highlighted by the unit (SI ) and International Marketing Standards, Principles and Practices that affect free trade, and are fiercely defended by the regime.

It is necessary for the Ministry of Agriculture to regain its position by restoring its functions and powers that were improperly taken over by other departments such as production, environment, water and ecological transition. It is necessary to see his leading role in all the forums that are carried out within the framework of his work, giving him comfortable resources to fulfill his mission, which are not reduced every year, and those dedicated to the research and control of catastrophic pests are increased. .

Faced with the threatening phenomenon of El Niño, which is affecting the South Pacific, with a serious impact on northern Peru and the coast of Ecuador, it is time to activate the Committee for Emergency Operations, COE, by appointing a second president, the current Minister of the Interior. His tenure could be the Minister of Agriculture, whose mandate would be seriously eroded, causing the country’s food security to be shaken. (OR)