This tool makes it possible to speed up the delivery of effective aid and support to those areas of the country affected by catastrophic events in the productive matrix of the agricultural sector.
117 municipalities in the regions of O'Higgins, Maule, Ñuble and Biobío were declared in a State of Agricultural Emergency. The announcement was made in the municipality of San Fernando during the president's visit to the areas affected by the bad weather front.
“(The) State of agricultural emergency serves to facilitate resources for the livestock and farming sectors that are going to require a lot of support at this time. The state of agricultural emergency is part of the public sector budget law and is complemented by the current aid from the frontal system that we had seven weeks ago, and it will allow us to speed up the delivery of the necessary aid.”, explained the President of the Republic, Gabriel Boric.
One of the characteristics of the agricultural emergency is that it allows resources from the current year's budget to be allocated to finance measures such as the delivery of fodder for livestock, poultry or food for bees.
Along these lines, the Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, explained that “The agricultural emergency decree allows us to do, quickly, what we did during the forest fires, which is to facilitate purchases and be efficient from the Seremi of Agriculture and INDAP to be distributing food and fodder next week, particularly in the most isolated areas, as well as food for the beekeeping sector and not just for the livestock sector.”
The agricultural emergency, declared by the Government through the Ministry of Agriculture, seeks to ensure that the delivery of aid to deal with this bad weather front is more agile and timely, and complements the aid currently in force in response to the bad weather front of last June.
Delivery of resources
Minister Esteban Valenzuela highlighted the investment that the government will make in aid to small farmers. “There is significant damage to producers near the basins, with winter crops, such as broad beans and also some production of melons and watermelons, carrots and onions, but let us remember that the first week of September the land registry aid for the previous emergency is delivered, ranging from $500 thousand to $5 million per farmer.”
“From an agricultural perspective, the most dangerous issue is damage to irrigation; that is why we coordinate with Public Works. And in this we want to emphasize the following: action has been taken, there are more than $20 billion in quick tenders by the CNR, with the association of canal operators and irrigators, surveillance boards, in addition to the support of more than $7 billion from INDAP for small farmers.”, the agricultural authority indicated.
