This Monday, the Government of Castile-La Mancha presented the Organic Agriculture Strategy for Castile-La Mancha, which will be in force for five years.
This strategy entails the granting of a permanent priority position to organic producers in all lines of the Rural Development Program, the commitment to short marketing channels for organic products, or the presentation of awards to the best in the organic industry, among other aspects.
This has been announced by the Councilor of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development, Francisco MartÃnez Arroyo, in Cuenca, where he has presented this strategy to more than fifty people involved in organic agriculture and livestock in the region. "It is an important step forward for the sector, given that organic producers had been abandoned by the previous government," said the regional government in a press release.
It was also announced that, following the example of the fruit and vegetable program already in place in the educational centers of the region, organic products will become a part of school menus across Castile-La Mancha in May.
This, as explained by the Councillor, is the regional government's way to show that they want to "bet on a production model that is synonymous with quality, food safety and a decisive commitment to the environment and rural development of Castile-La Mancha."
Excluding pastures, Castile-La Mancha is the Spanish region with the largest organic acreage, with 372,000 hectares. It has received more than 8,000 applications of aid for organic production, and it is number one in Spain and the European Union when it comes to public resources made available to the sector through the Rural Development Program, with 236 million Euro.
Source: lanzadigital.com
