Asaja Alicante Criticises Government for Failing to Activate €370 Million in Aid for Olive and Vineyard Sectors 'Mandated by Law'

Asaja Alicante, the Young Farmers Association, has strongly criticised the Government for not activating the €370 million in aid for the olive and vineyard sectors. The association has deemed the decision by Moncloa 'unacceptable' for not activating the extraordinary aid mandated by law, citing the extension of the General State Budgets.

In this regard, Asaja Alicante is urgently calling for the enforcement of Law 1/2025 on the prevention of food loss and waste, which already established this fund of €285 million for dryland olive groves and €85 million for dryland vineyards, aimed at the farms most affected by drought and the rising costs due to the war in Ukraine.

The association explains in a statement that the fourth additional provision of this law required the Executive to approve, within a maximum of two months from its approval, a direct grant aid aimed at professional farmers, priority farms, and dryland olive and vineyard areas. 'However, more than half a year later, the aid has not materialised,' they denounce.

Asaja Alicante criticises that 'a law designed precisely to protect the most vulnerable professional farmers cannot be left unfulfilled,' warning that dryland olive and vineyard sectors 'cannot become collateral victims of the lack of Budgets.'

'There is no possible justification for olive and vineyard sectors to be excluded from aid that is written into a law, designed to cushion the fall in harvest, the increase in costs, and the loss of margin,' adds the association, which recalls the severe impact that drought had on dryland crops. For instance, the Alicante Wine DO had a historic low last year, with only 15 million kilos of harvest, a 23% drop.

Asaja Alicante explains that this delay 'leaves dryland farms in absolute uncertainty, making any planning difficult, from investments to pruning, treatments, or hiring staff, and increases the real risk of farm abandonment in particularly vulnerable rural areas.'

The association demands that the Ministry of Agriculture provide 'an immediate and transparent solution' that includes 'the urgent activation of the €370 million foreseen in Law 1/2025, the necessary budget allocation to implement it, clarity on beneficiaries and areas, a public payment schedule, and equal treatment compared to other sectors that have received extraordinary aid.'