This Friday, March 6, the Minister of Agriculture accused the bank of giving priority, when granting credit, to those affected by bad weather who present less risk, despite the 80% state guarantee, an unacceptable situation in his opinion.
“There is something here that I hear and I don’t like it (…) some agricultural companies have more risk [e] what the banks are doing, even though they have a guarantee of 80% of the State Budget, they are lending first to those with less risk”revealed José Manuel Fernandes.
The situation, clarified the government official, affects agricultural companies that suffered damages in excess of 10 thousand euros in the storms of recent weeks and that, in addition to the losses suffered, are experiencing cash flow difficulties.
“Now, our goal is to help everyone and, especially, those who suffered losses. This is happening and we will have to review and look at this situation”stressed the government official, in a speech today at the closing of the 18th seminar of the Montemor-o-Velho agricultural cooperative, in the district of Coimbra.
Heard by the Lusa agency on the sidelines of the session, José Manuel Fernandes gave pig farmers in the Leiria region as an example. “They are not having access to credit lines, this is unacceptable. And even though the Government provides an 80% guarantee, the banks are not supporting them, because they are considering them to be at greater risk, and are favoring those who have a lower risk. When the objective that the Government has is to support those who need it most and that there is urgency in restoring productive potential”he argued.
The situation, clarified the government official, affects agricultural companies that suffered damages in excess of 10 thousand euros in the storms of recent weeks and that, in addition to the losses suffered, are experiencing cash flow difficulties.
“It’s an injustice. The guarantee that was given of 80% should also be used for those companies that have less income, which are agricultural companies, and that should not, in essence, be ignored and placed at the end, after the others are taken care of”highlighted José Manuel Fernandes.
The Minister of Agriculture also said that the current phase, after the storms and floods of recent weeks, is the recovery phase, which is urgent, he noted.
“We have to have some patience, but there are urgencies that are greater than others. The urgency, for example, of having channels with water so as not to lose this campaign [de 2026] when it comes to rice, it is superior to the others”emphasized José Manuel Fernandes.
If in the case of Baixo Mondego and the replacement of the irrigation channel, the governor maintained the 1st of May, the date announced by the Portuguese Environment Agency, for the work to be completed, as regards the infrastructure owned by the irrigation associations, José Manuel Fernandes announced the opening of a tender, worth 20 million euros, next week, for this purpose.
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