We have been warning from the agricultural entities the lack of specific policy for regional economies, since each of them needs special conditions to continue producing. Pears, plums, apples, cherry, olive, vine, garlic, etc. and even peanuts are different and the ways of producing them too.
–
In addition to not having a competitive price to be able to face the costs of the plantations, maintenance costs, fertilization, fee paid for irrigation water, etc., when harvesting the fruits, there is a lack of work available. Precisely, one of the reasons expressed by the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME) is that the beneficiaries of social plans prefer not to take these positions for fear of losing benefits.
We had the opportunity to visit by farms in Neuquén and Mendoza and this reality is clearly described by the producers, who pose these problems and the need to abandon this activity to find another that leaves them profit margin to continue living.
This type of policies contrary to production causes a drop in productivity, causes an increase in costs and very low, or sometimes zero, profitability for the producer.
Thousands of questions go through the head of anyone who hears this description of the reality of a sector of small producers (they have between 4 and 10 hectares of fruit trees) whom no one helped, not even with the promises they made due to the pandemic, already that they did not spare him the electricity, nor the irrigation water, nor the municipal, provincial or national taxes; They did not enter into any plan, but they get a lot of money from the countryside through export duties (one truck is kept by the State for every three trucks and only counting export duties) that could be allocated to a fund to help in emergencies, such as that of these producers, so that they do not disappear.
The main question that the government should ask itself is what is the plan? Although it should also be questioned whether they really want to make believe that they help or that they are interested in SMEs that produce food, or if on the contrary they are letting them fall into a well of no return.
We Argentines who get up to work and produce every day would like the Government to explain what the direction is, where it wants to take us. We have plenty of examples of what happened in the countries that destroyed those who produce. Will this be the model you want to apply here?
–
