Irrigation and protection of tobacco farming guide the opening of Expoagro

The 21st Expoagro Afubra opened this Tuesday (21), in Rio Pardo, in a ceremony that brought together hundreds of people in defense of family farming issues. The fair, which runs until Friday at the exhibition park in the town of Rincão Del Rey, brings together more than 500 exhibitors from different sectors of agricultural activity and has innovation and sustainable production as the pillars to leverage business and encourage the development of small rural properties.
The event was attended by the Governor of the State, Eduardo Leite, accompanied by a large part of the secretariat, mayors of the region, state and federal deputies and leaders of the agricultural sector in Rio Grande do Sul. It was the ideal stage to shed light on farmers’ demands and concerns. At the beginning of his speech, when welcoming the public at the show, the president of the Association of Tobacco Growers of Brazil (Afubra), Benício Albano Werner, tried to highlight the losses suffered by agricultural and livestock activities due to the drought. And, with that, renew the request for the shackles that make it difficult to build water reservoirs on the properties to be undone.
“The drought has been devastating different crops, causing damage to farmers, public authorities and consumers. We need to speed up the licensing processes for building reservoirs. There are already projects for dams in municipalities such as Sinimbu and Vera Cruz. Our region develops and grows beyond rural production, also in urban areas. But it needs water, ”he said.
The leader also asked for support in defense of tobacco farming, given the resumption of discussions around the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which determines the adoption of intersectoral measures in the areas of advertising, publicity, sponsorship, health warnings, passive smoking, treatment of smokers, illegal trade and prices and taxes. According to him, the sector needs to be seen not as a villain, but as a generator of social, economic and environmental resources.
Since tobacco restrictions began, in the 2004-2005 harvest, to date, over 70,000 families have abandoned the activity in the three southern states.
“We defend the farmers’ market. In the 2004-2005 harvest, when tobacco restrictions began, there were 198,000 producing families. We are currently 125 thousand families. And the planted area fell from 439 thousand hectares to 246 thousand hectares. Our concern is legitimate”, justified Werner.
In response, Eduardo Leite guaranteed that tobacco production will always find respect and support from the Rio Grande do Sul government, due to its economic importance.
“It is important to value cultivation, to understand the impact it has. It is one thing to make the population aware of the problems caused by a series of products, not just tobacco. But condemn the production, I do not accept. The tobacco growing sector can count on our support,” he added.
Leite also pointed out that the government has been working to be able to pay obligations, reorganize accounts and regain investment capacity, including for irrigation. “We will have unprecedented investments in this new cycle, aimed at rural producers. We are going to announce a robust investment plan to make everything necessary for irrigation viable. And irrigation also needs modern legislation, with the possibility of storing water without causing damage and with better coexistence with environmental legislation”, he added.
Also during the event, the state deputy and former mayor of Rio Pardo Edivilson Brum (MDB), representing the Legislative Assembly, brought to the agenda the issue of indebtedness of rural producers, with yet another harvest frustration.
“We have estimated losses of at least 30% in soybeans and 40% in corn. But how much does this mean for families? We are renegotiating today what was negotiated yesterday in order to make tomorrow viable. At the same time, irrigation is necessary, but perhaps not feasible, due to cost, soil topography, water resources and environmental legislation. This theme must be treated as a government plan, with national authority”, emphasized the parliamentarian.