The President of the Assembly of European Horticultural Regions (AREFLH) and Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, has called for a strong and solvent budget for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to ensure the future of the fruit and vegetable sector.
As explained by Fernández-Pacheco within the AREFLH board of directors, «the fruit and vegetable sector is one of the most dynamic and organized in European agriculture and its success depends on a specific and adapted budget within the CAP, which should be seen as a strategic tool for food security, environmental sustainability, and rural cohesion.»
In this regard, as President of AREFLH, he has assured that the assembly is working to defend the sector in the negotiations for the upcoming multiannual financial framework 2028-2032 so that the food sector continues to be considered a strategic and priority sector within the European Union. «We cannot allow our sector to be undermined, in addition to the numerous challenges it already faces, by an unfair and insufficient CAP for producers,» he added.
He has emphasized that «the CAP must have a strong and robust budget that benefits fruit and vegetable producer organizations (OPFH), who will be strengthened and will have more capacity to defend their interests and needs. A budget that must also be flexible and independent of other funds to ensure the viability of producers.»
In this respect, the Minister and President of the European fruit and vegetable lobby has stated that «the independence of these funds will prevent the fragmentation of the single market and ensure cohesion and fair competition between regions, who have much to say based on their productive reality.» He also recognized the importance of protecting multiannual planning in the next framework, which will provide producers with more security to invest.
«In conclusion, a new multiannual financial framework that meets the true needs of fruit and vegetable producers and does not overlook water as one of the most urgent challenges facing European agriculture to be more profitable and competitive in the international market,» stated the Minister of Agriculture in Andalusia, one of the regions represented in AREFLH.
Available to European institutions
In this line, Fernández-Pacheco has announced that AREFLH is available to European institutions to contribute to this strategic debate with the aim of defending food sovereignty that ensures the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in Europe.
During the board meeting, the President thanked the work carried out by producers and regions over these 25 years within the association, «always on the side of the producer and defending fruit and vegetable marketers» and stated that «in this new term, the interests and needs of the horticultural sector in Europe will continue to be represented as they have been, despite the numerous challenges we face.»