The Fair Price of Agriculture
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The countryside has woken up and with it an open secret: the national productions are not paid a fair price either. Agriculture is essential for the country - for any country - since it spreads the territory, it keeps alive the unpopulated areas so in vogue now with the emptied Spain, and, apart it keeps the fields and mountains clean and avoiding fires, taking care of the landscape and the environment. Most of this work is done by small farms of a families, with a small and medium size, and in order to be a farmer and rancher, this activity also needs to be profitable.
This fair profitability so far has been met thanks to the Common Agricultural Policy, but they are still not enough because there is something that fails in the chain and make the current system not allow us to be food sovereign. Food sovereignty implies giving priority to local productions whenever possible and allowing people to choose sustainably (ecologically, culturally and economically) what they want to produce and how. The UPA (Union of Small Farmers) has taken to the streets with a clear claim and is that the Spanish agricultural sector does not guarantee a fair price that allows at least cover production costs. Most of the products are still sold at the same price as 30 years ago. And even in some cases at lower prices. However, the costs assumed by farmers (energy, supplies, labor costs, livestock feed, etc.) have been updated, rising considerably. The first and great proposal that comes from the countryside is the application of certain legislative changes that they consider urgent, such as the prohibition of selling at losses throughout the food chain. Also, legally define what is considered a fair price for perishable products that are linked to production costs. One solution, already at the level of sale between companies, is that in the contracts reference can be made to the production prices and even that the figure of the mediator who serves as arbitrator in the relations between the farmers sector and the farmers can be recognized Distribution buyers. How can we give more transparency to the food chain? Consumers who in most cases are not aware that it is the intermediaries who are taking a large part of the sale price to the public, and often having contributed very little added value to the final product. A good solution to facilitate the purchase of agro-livestock products is that the labeling of origin is mandatory for all fresh and manufactured products, and also that measures are established that regulate the direct sale of agricultural and livestock products by direct channels, making Farmers and ranchers can reach the final customer, either by buying spaces or by consumption groups, for now minorities.
Fair trade chain is possible if certain rules are taken into account, and if within a framework of freedom, transparency and good practices are rewarded. In this case there are many parallels between the Fairtrade seal and a new legal labeling framework, since in the end it is the consumer who chooses between sustainability and justice, or between exploitation and predation. Until now, Fair Trade talked about the payment of a fair price of multinationals with respect to producers in developing countries, but the same scheme is now being repeated among large agents in the distribution sector and precarious farmers. However, we must promote the ethics of the purchase and reward either in the supermarket line or with the direct purchase from the farmer, initiatives that highlight social justice either our neighbor in the region or a farmer from another continent. If the consumer gets to see ridiculously low prices, be suspicious because it has been done against the margin of the first link that is the one that produces the most fundamental value that is food. |
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"The Spanish agricultural sector does not guarantee a fair price that allows at least cover production costs." |
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