The Catalan Minister for Climate Action, Food and the Rural Agenda inaugurates the 67th edition of the Fira de Sant Miquel and the 36th Eurofruit trade fair
Teresa Jordà, Minister of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Generalitat de Catalunya, has vindicated the role of farmers and livestock farmers in the management of the territory and has stated that “they must earn a living”. This is what she said today during her speech at the inauguration of the 67th edition of the Sant Miquel Fair (National Agricultural Machinery Show) and the 36th edition of Eurofruit (Professional Trade Fair for Fruit Industry Suppliers), which will be held until 3 October at the Fira de Lleida exhibition centre with the presence of 290 exhibitors and around fifty parallel activities.
In her speech, the minister emphasised that Catalonia “is a country of reference and prestige for its agri-food system, which facilitates territorial cohesion”, while at the same time she has made a commitment to the “green revolution”, to sustainable food production, to technological transformation and to promoting the role of women and young people in the sector. “We have to recover our pride in our country, with a more equitable and sustainable agricultural system,” he said.
Jordà, after signing the Fira de Lleida’s Book of Honour and before making the traditional visit to the exhibitors, spoke to the media and called on the Government to ensure that the Food Chain Law, the draft amendment that is currently being processed, protects producers and is not just “a law for show”. He called for a ban on selling at a loss because “a producer cannot sell below the production price” and “must be able to make a living”. Jordà called for “more budget” for farmers, livestock farmers and the productive sector, although she expressed her conviction that the new Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda will have “good budgets” if the Generalitat’s accounts for 2022 are successful.
The minister was accompanied at the opening ceremony of the Sant Miquel Fair by the mayor of Lleida, Miquel Pueyo; by the president of Lleida Provincial Council, Joan Talarn; by the president of the Lleida Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jaume Saltó, and by the director general of Fira de Lleida, Oriol Oró.
In his speech, Pueyo stated that the holding of the Sant Miquel Fair, the first on-site event of its kind in Catalonia, is a “hope” that recovers a European benchmark in the sector, “a generator of economy and confidence”. He also stressed that Lleida aspires to be the European capital of technological transformation in terms of agriculture.
The president of the Provincial Council, Joan Talarn, also supported the digitalisation of the primary sector, commenting that after the crisis, economic changes must be accelerated, changes to which a fair that is “a forum for debate on the transformation of the green, circular and digitalised economy” is contributing.
For his part, Jaume Saltó, President of the Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that Lleida “not only exports fruit, but also technology”. However, he regretted the relocation of companies from Lleida, a worrying issue and one on which he asked for the support of the Generalitat government.
In terms of health and safety, it should be remembered that Fira de Lleida has implemented an advanced Artificial Intelligence system which, by means of video cameras, monitors people entering and leaving the venue and automatically warns them in real time when they do not comply with the protocols of capacity, social distance, use of masks, etc.
The sectors present at the fair are precision agriculture, agricultural machinery, equipment and services for agriculture and livestock, local products and food, packaging, nurseries, plant protection, industrial machinery, frost and hail protection, auxiliary systems, irrigation, drones and automotive, among others.
The exhibition is open to the public from 9.30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
