"The answer is simple: agriculture was not given importance. The RRP support for agriculture is not zero, but it is just above that. Therefore, obviously, it could and should be more and the Government had that possibility", pointed out, in an interview with Lusa, the president of CAP, Álvaro Mendonça e Moura, when celebrating one year since he assumed the presidency of the confederation.

On September 22, 2023, the European Commission approved the revision of Portugal's RRP, which now amounts to 22.2 billion euros.

However, this amount could have been approximately 30.5 billion euros if the Government had chosen to exhaust all the loans, as the Spanish executive did.

For CAP, that should have been the option of the Portuguese Government, thus giving more prominence to the agricultural sector in the RRP.

The executive would always have to pay this debt, but "within 30 years and with negligible interest", which would make it possible to invest, for example, in water retention.

The confederation of farmers has already defended the creation of a National Water Network, expecting it to move forward in the next four years.

Otherwise, "every other year", we will say that we are once again in a drought situation and that aid is needed, he said.

Álvaro Mendonça e Moura also pointed out that, unlike what happens, for example, in North Africa, Portugal does not lack water, but the resource is poorly distributed, and it does not have the capacity to store it.

It is therefore necessary to start retaining water, which can be done by raising dams, with the reallocation of their use.

On the other hand, as he argued, the solution may also lie in the renegotiation of dam concessions, with some becoming multipurpose.

However, he warned that it will not be with the RRP funds that the country will be able to bet on this resource, stressing that the deadline to apply for this loan is now closed.

The RRP, which has an execution period until 2026, aims to implement a set of reforms and investments with a view to recovering economic growth.

In addition to aiming to repair the damage caused by covid-19, this plan also aims to support investments and generate employment.

Among the problems pointed out by the confederation are also the funds to be executed in the Rural Development Program (RDP) 2020, which must be done by the end of next year.

"We do not lack money, we lack project execution and that is what we have to change", he pointed out.

Regarding the Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy (PEPAC), the president of CAP explained that it has to be "deeply remodeled" and not just debureaucratized, as already announced by the Government of Luís Montenegro.

"It is a substantial change. It is not just a question of remodeling, making it simpler and less bureaucratic. It is effectively being changed", he said.

CAP submitted a proposal to amend PEPAC, expecting it to be part of what the Government will have to submit to Brussels by the end of June, so that the new plan can enter into force on January 1, 2025.

The farmers' proposal provides, among other points, for greater support for precision agriculture, "more advanced and environmentally friendly" and for livestock farming, in addition to strengthening the first pillar of this policy, which concerns direct payments.

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