The concern for the harvest of the second half of the rice unions It is so much that yesterday producers from different departments such as Tolima, Huila, Meta, Casanare and Norte de Santander protested in front of the Ministry of Agriculture in Bogotá.
You can also read: Ten remote job offers with salaries of more than four million pesos
Representatives of Fedearroz, Dignidad Arrocera, Dignidad Agropecuaria, Nucleos Arroceros and Coagrodistricts were present at the march. They ask the Minister of Agriculture, Jhenifer Mojica, not to eliminate the incentive for grain storage that they have been given for the last 30 years because this decision would threaten their income.
This is because this is an incentive given to millers to store rice for three or four months and thus the temporary surplus that is generated at this time of year due to the seasonality of the harvest can be removed from the market. .
Mobilization of the rice farmers union
“We ask the government for a fair price for rice production this semester and also guarantee storage incentives that allow producers not to lose money and not go bankrupt,” he asked. Óscar Gutiérrez, director of Colombian Agricultural Dignity (DAC).
If they were to eliminate it, they say that having so much rice at this time generates an oversupply and prices would drop in such a way that it would not compensate them to cover planting costs. In addition to this, the high production costs they are paying are added.
#Rice Mobilization
Oscar Gutiérrez, executive director of DAC, talks about the necessary solutions so that rice producers do not go bankrupt.
Short-term storage incentive
Long-term structural policy for the sector. pic.twitter.com/hnILHtGtHb— DignidadAgropecuaria (@Dignidad_Agro) June 27, 2023
“We are concerned that the surplus will generate an oversupply and this will lead to a drop in prices. The incentive has always worked, what it does is remove the surplus from the market for three or four months to be used in the first half of the following year, which is generally in deficit,” he says. Rafael Hernández, manager of Fedearroz.
Mojica has the task of continuing with the projects carried out so far by former minister López.
The Vice Minister of Agricultural Affairs, Aura María Duarte, He said that he took note of his concerns and proposals related to the current situation in the rice sector. In addition, he informed them that a work table was set up since Monday and that as a result of this they agreed to have proposals and advance on issues related to setting a floor price for the storage of surplus harvest this year.
He also recalled that the Ministry of Agriculture ordered about 20,000 million pesos to help leverage this harvest and this surplus, which is especially noticeable in the Llanos Orientales region. However, the rice farmers do not accept it.
