Due to the drought, the government has declared an agricultural emergency in Cordoba

Amid Argentina’s historic drought, the national government declared the agricultural emergency in the province of Cordoba.

By Resolution 290/2023published this Friday in the Official Bulletinhe Ministry of Economy endorsed “the state of agricultural emergency and/or disasterif applicable, the January 1, 2023 and until June 30, 2023, agricultural, forestry and fruit and vegetable farms affected by drought”. While Until December 31 the agricultural emergency and/or disaster has been declared to livestock farms, tamberas and beekeeping. The measure covers 800,000 hectares which cover the south of the department of San Justo, the north of Marcos Juárez and Unión, and the northwest of General San Martín.

The resolution extends the benefits granted by the declaration of emergency issued by the province, which includes tax extensions or exemptions and access to different credit tools for the sector concerned. “Producers and producers concerned must present a certificate issued by the competent authority of the province, indicating that their properties or exploitations are included in the cases provided for in said article”, specified the Ministry of Economy.

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In this context, the Government of Cordoba will send the list of producers concerned to the Executive Technical Secretariat of the National Commission for Agricultural Emergencies and Disasters, together with a copy of the emergency certificate issued by the competent provincial authority.

For their part, the national, official or mixed banking establishments and the AFIP “will arbitrate the means necessary for the rural producers covered by this resolution to benefit from the advantages provided for in Articles 22 and 23 of Law No. 26.509 and its amendments” , was explained in the resolution signed by Sergio Massa.

For its part, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock has shared the explanatory video, so that rural producers can download the affidavit to access the emergency, accessible through the website of the National Health Registry of Agricultural Producers . However, the head of the provincial portfolio, Sergio Busso, highlighted the resolution executed by the national government but considered that it is insufficient and that “the degree of coverage that can help the producers affected is relative”. “In many cases, the benefits of the emergency law are tied to the owners of the land, but 60% or 70% of those who produce rent the land, so the needs of the producer are not met,” he questioned in statements to channel 3.

In this sense, he indicated that these days there is talk of looking for other hedging mechanisms so that when he loses, the producer can try to secure the investment in order to continue producing. “It’s called multi-risk or coverage insurance and it’s highly discussed,” said the government official in Cordoba. “I hope we can find an answer to the needs of the producer,” he added.

“There are a lot of resources that the producer brings in but due to the ‘looting’ of the national state through withholdings, nothing comes back. We do not agree on the conceptual level but in the meantime we could discuss and propose ways to subsidize the producer when he loses, as will be the case with this harvest”, protested the minister.

“In this macroeconomic context, it is clear that the sector really needs to be revived, not to intervene or restrict exports or penalize it with restraints,” Busso said.

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