The National Assembly processed in the first debate a bill that seeks to set the official price of a liter of milk on the farm above $0.42, plus two components related to hygienic quality and sanitary quality.
This February 8, the plenary session opened the debate on the organic law project to promote the production, commercialization, industrialization, consumption and fixing of the price of milk and its derivatives, which was presented by the legislator Mariano Curicama (BAN).
The representatives of the milk producers, upon being received in the general commission, requested the approval of this law, which in their opinion will protect the livestock sector from low prices and smuggling.
Underconsumption and smuggling cost dairy farmers $50 million a year
Gustavo Albuja, representative of the country’s small farmers, affirmed that in this bill it is necessary to set the price of milk calculated by production cost plus a reasonable profit, and asked that the importation of powdered milk be prohibited, since there is sufficient national production, since every day 6 million liters of milk are produced in Ecuador.
Likewise, he said that smuggling that kills agriculture must be fought against, because thousands of liters of milk enter from neighboring countries every day, which distorts the market and bankrupts the peasant.
Santiago Malo, president of the National Federation of Milk Producers of Ecuador, questioned that this sector has had to do lobby government after government, to ask for support from ranchers. This time he asked the legislators to consider this law so that, through a legislative mandate, they obtain a legal framework that allows the 300,000 small production units that produce 6 million liters of milk a day to work in peace and that binds 1,500,000 persons. He clarified that the peasants are not asking to be given anything, but legal security to continue working.
Ángel Catucuamba, national coordinator of the livestock sector, highlighted the importance of creating the National Milk Institute in the value chain that is made up of producers, industrialists, academia, the State and all entities related to the sector.
On the other hand, Alexandra Abad, national representative of the livestock unions of Azuay, told the assembly members that the field needs to be protected because it is experiencing a very serious wave of migration of up to 70% in the rural sector of the Austro.
The president of the Food Sovereignty Commission, Mariano Curicama (BAN), rapporteur for the project, called on legislators to support the approval of this project, which passed the first debate and will return to the Sovereignty Commission for the final report.
The legislator stressed that the largest number of ranchers are concentrated in the provinces of Chimborazo, Manabí, Cotopaxi and Pichincha, although there are more than 270,000 ranchers throughout the country. And it is the Sierra region that contributes with more than 70% of milk production.
Curicama affirmed that milk becomes the salary of the field, for this reason it is necessary to regulate this important activity by law, which today is regulated by ministerial agreements that are far from reality and respond to the government of the day, since it is often handled on a whim. of each one of the ministers or deputy ministers, he pointed out.
The project contains 57 articles, three general provisions, two transitory provisions and one derogatory and one final provision.
The living essence of the project under discussion is found in chapters 4 and 5, said Curicama, and refers to the setting of the price of raw milk paid at the farm and collection center. Currently, the price is set through the Ministry of Agriculture based on ministerial agreement 394 of 2013, where it is determined that the minimum price of raw milk on the farm must be $0.42 plus two components for hygiene and sanitary quality. .
He questioned that currently the price of a liter of milk on the farm ranges between $0.15 and $0.28, which does not cover the cost of production, which is located at $0.33.
Joel Abad of the Pachakutik bloc commented that from his bench he will defend food generators, and for this reason he proposed that the most suitable and technical mechanisms be sought in the law to guarantee a profitable activity for livestock production.
It is necessary to establish mechanisms to export livestock production from Ecuador and the law under debate must define the price of milk and it should not only be $0.42, but $0.48, and he asked that sanctions be included for those who abuse the prices.
Eduardo Mendoza (BAN) pointed out that in the construction of this bill three fundamental aspects are considered: the social, economic and most importantly the sanitary technician, for this the massive participation of ranchers who make their dairy herds their source must be considered. main source of income, and producers have always demanded a fair price.
That the rule under construction should prohibit the sale of milk adulterated with whey, which is an attack on the health of all consumers.
He questioned the Minister of Agriculture, Pedro Álava, for his lack of concern for agriculture, he called on the official to stop killing national production with the importation of corn, the importation of powdered milk.
The most worrying thing, he added, is the elimination of the consultative councils as organisms that fix the prices of agricultural production. “Enough is enough, Mr. Minister, if you do not have the capacity, resign your position, there are capable people who know how to do it,” he stressed.
The official Francisco Jiménez (CREO) warned that the debate shows scenarios that are not always real, and pointed out that the fixation with the overregulation of the price of milk could take its toll, because there are other problems that exist in the field. like the digital divide.
That pricing offers a tool at hand and allows temporary compensation for the asymmetries that exist in rural areas, but he said that it is not a definitive solution. “For this reason, we cannot base our hopes for the development of the countryside mainly on setting prices, but instead look for a way to pursue sustainable development of the agricultural sector as a whole,” he stressed.
“Let’s be very careful where we put the pen, let’s be careful of the process in which we want to make the country go through, undermining the foundations of the revitalization of the economy, that beyond setting prices, training is encouraged,” warned the representative of the government wing.
The president in charge of the session, Virgilio Saquicela, closed the debate on the project that will return to the Food Sovereignty Commission to collect the observations and present the report for the second and definitive debate. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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