The president of the Peasant Federation warned that “the country is in a situation of food risk”: “This shortage is much more serious than the one that occurred with gasoline, for that reason the conditions must be given so that the import can be given” by private parties.
Caracas. Agricultural producers have been fighting for years against fuel shortages in the country, lack of access to raw materials and fertilization plans for crops; All this has caused that today they barely produce 20% of the food that Venezuela demands, when in the past they managed to supply 70%.
In recent weeks, the lack of diesel, an essential fuel for moving goods, has worsened. The Alliance for Food Security of Venezuela estimates that 20,000 tons of food are lost a week as a result of this.
Juan Carlos Montesinos, president of the Venezuelan Family Economy Association, explained in a press conference held this Thursday, March 25, that the reproductive cycle is at risk, because a key sowing period for producers begins in April and does not have been able to prepare for the fuel shortage. The situation threatens to aggravate the reduced production of corn, sugar cane and other items.
“We need an alternative, a license to help the producer bring the diesel,” argued Montesinos, who emphasized that due to the fuel crisis “20,000 tons of food are being lost weekly.” Likewise, he argued that most of these foods come from the Andes and the Llanos of the country and are transferred to the large consumption centers.
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In Mérida and Trujillo they consider that the deficit is greater; However, they affirm that throughout the country the situation is also critical, since 70% of the transport fleet is paralyzed.
“At this moment the summer crops are being lost due to the impossibility of transporting them. Three million liters of milk are lost daily in the dairy sector. The situation is serious because they are perishable items, “lamented the president of the Venezuelan Family Economy Association.
The president of the Peasant Federation of Venezuela, Miguel Ulises Moreno, warned that if the crisis continues due to fuel shortages, “there will be no corn for human or animal consumption.” “We are in a situation of food risk, this shortage is much more serious than the one that occurred with gasoline, that is why the conditions must be met so that the importation can take place,” he said. Since last week the private sector, which is engaged in some agricultural activity, advocates for permits to bring diesel.
Moreno said that producers are leaving from the Andes without fuel to stock up on the roads, which will cause them to take longer to reach consumption centers and food spoilage.
For his part, Alexis Algarra, agrarian lawyer and union leader of the livestock sector, said that producers require legal security and personal security to be able to carry out their activity in the country.
Until February, the refineries produced around 43,000 barrels per day of diesel, which could supply the domestic market, since at that time consumption was 48,000 barrels per day. A source linked to the sector assures that last month the Paraguaná Refining Center (CRP) produced 28,000 barrels per day of diesel and the Puerto La Cruz refinery generated 15,000 barrels per day of that fuel.
