XXIIJornadasFVThis was one of the conclusions of the XXII Technical Conference on Agriculture in Fuerteventura.

The last session of the XXII Technical Conference on Agriculture organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing served to confirm the path that export tomato production must follow: differentiation in the international market through quality.
The impact of the POSEI program on Canary Islands agriculture and its different crops such as tomatoes and bananas was also addressed., in addition to screening the documentary 'The long journey of the Canary tomato'.

The president of the Council, Mario Cabrera, said that “these days, who were born ago 22 years as a meeting focused on the tomato sector, As the editions go by, they have become the authentic debate forum that should guide agricultural policies in Fuerteventura.. In this edition we have drawn interesting conclusions about the need to improve investment planning and adapt them to political actions in demand of more effective management in matters such as POSEI. In addition to the contents, very interesting, about new products that present a very interesting potential for the Majorero primary sector, the recovery of seeds and even the care of the soil”.

The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and fisheries, Rita Díaz, The study of these tomato varieties aims to assess their yields and qualities “the primary sector is more than an economy; It is the root of a way of life and of a know-how that defines us as majoreros and majoreras. Both these sessions and the rest of the initiatives that we have promoted from the Ministry have always had this double aspect., that of promoting an economic activity and that of maintaining and rescuing jobs, traditions and plant and animal varieties that are part of our idiosyncrasy”.

The first presentation, 'The socioeconomic impact of tomato export in the Canary Islands', by José Juan Cáceres, Professor of Applied Economics and Quantitative Methods at the University of La Laguna, offered data on the decline of the tomato export sector in the Canary Islands: passing 4.500 hectares (in Fuerteventura 280 hectares) in 1995, to 800 hectares (in Fuerteventura 32 hectares) today.

He also pointed out that if this sector assumes the 35 percent of the value of agricultural production in the Canary Islands in the year 2000, has passed to 10 percent currently; and to have at least 17.000 jobs, to have some 4.500.

This has occurred due to a decrease in profitability margins caused by rising costs., the price drop, the emergence of new competitors and the instability of the aid offered through the POSEI program.

Cáceres highlighted that an hour of work in the Canary Islands costs 5.70 euros and in Morocco it costs less than 1 Euro. The solutions are complicated, but they involve giving stability to the tomato strategic plan and increasing differentiation by quality.

The second conference, 'Impact of the POSEI program on Canarian agriculture', It was led by Juan Sebastián Nuez, economist. Nuez explained what it consists of and what the journey of POSEI has been in the Canary Islands since 1992.

All agricultural sectors have decreased their production except bananas. POSEI fails to meet the objectives for which it was created.

To resolve the imbalance, Nuez proposes that REA aid be for products that do not compete with local productions and, in no case, the aid is greater than 120 EUR per tonne. That the collection of aid be the same for importers, banana producers and other sectors. And full distribution of aid, just as they do with bananas, and that state aid is distributed equally among all sectors..

In the medium term, POSEI should be a tool to guide the agricultural policy of the Canary Islands. Aid must be linked to employment; Organic farming and farmers must be given priority as well as include other productions such as olive trees., aloe, etc.

The closing of the Conference included the screening of the documentary 'The long journey of the Canary tomato', by Gustavo Rodríguez, spokesperson for the Platform for the Defense of Tomatoes, Fruits and Vegetables Canary Islands. Record the journey of the Canarian tomato from a farm in La Aldea de San Nicolás to the European markets.