The president of the Confederation of Farmers of Portugal (CAP) defended in parliament that the regional agricultural directorates should return “today” or, at the latest, tomorrow, highlighting the role of this body.
“When should it be done? [regresso das direções regionais de agricultura e pescas – DRAP] Today, if possible. If not, tomorrow”, argued the president of CAP, Álvaro Mendonça e Moura, in response to deputies, in the parliamentary committee on Agriculture and Fisheries.
The CAP leader recalled that, by the end of December 2025, Portugal has to implement around 1,050 million euros from the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan (PEPAC) and the Rural Development Program (PDR) 2020.
For the confederation, which highlighted the delays in the execution of these funds, it will not be possible to meet the deadline in question “without a chain of command”, in particular, without the return of the DRAP.
“No matter how well-intentioned the minister is [da Agricultura] and the Government, it is not possible. There has to be a chain of command. It is not possible to invest this money without the necessary controls”, he highlighted.
In the previous legislature, the Government (PS) decided to transfer the powers of the regional agriculture directorates to the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions (CCDR), a decision that was contested by the sector.
At the end of the first round of interventions, Mendonça e Moura said he still had “obviously a lot of hope” that a new institutional dialogue between the Ministries of Agriculture and the Environment would be possible, which he said had not happened in the past.
For the confederation, the State must be a facilitator of investment and not an inhibitor.
“We, the farmers, are the most interested in protecting the environment, because we will be the most affected if this is not done,” he added.
The former ambassador also stressed that the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) has “to act in intelligent defense of the environment”, denouncing cases that, “told over the breakfast table, no one would believe”.
Although he did not provide many details in this regard, Álvaro Mendonça e Moura highlighted that, often, the State that authorizes a certain investment by a farmer is the same one that later prevents him from executing it.
