Against the «discrimination in Government treatment due to reductions in water use», close to three hundred Algarve farmers and 200 machines came together this Friday, March 8, on Estrada Nacional (EN) 125, between Boliqueime and Almancil (Loulé).
Ao Sul Informação, Macário Correia, president of the Sotavento Algarvio Regantes Association, also talks about inequality in relation to other sectors such as «tourist and urban».
“Equal rules for everyone inside and outside Europe”, “Justice in scarcity: equity in water cuts” or “We don’t want subsidies, we want water” are still some of the demands made by farmers during the demonstration.
Also this Friday, farmers delivered to the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission a dossier with urgent demands to mitigate the water crisis in the region.
«In summary, regarding the severity of the drought situation in the Algarve, CSHA presents solutions to reduce water losses, increase water storage capacity (in dams, treated wastewater, desalination plants, aquifers in the Algarve), appeals to equitable cuts in water use, recalls the suspension of new investments in this area, suggests an information campaign among the population, the updating of underground abstraction titles, and defends the insufficiency of support presented by the Government», jthe commission had already announced.
«CSHA also reinforces that, as the rainfall in recent weeks exceeded the Government's estimates, any volume allocated higher than estimated must be directed to alleviate the cuts imposed on agriculture», they added.
Due to current government uncertainty, Algarve farmers say that future protest actions are not planned for now.
The demonstration was called by newly created Commission for Hydroagricultural Sustainability of the Algarve (CSHA), which brings together more than a thousand entities and farmers in the Algarve.
Photos: Cátia Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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