According to the secretary general of Asaja Huelva, Félix Sanz, this year's strawberry and berries campaign is one of the most complicated campaigns in living memory due to many reasons, including water and phytosanitary problems. In addition, he said, the arrival of seasonal workers from Morocco is delayed due to a bureaucratic problem between both countries.
In an interview with Europa Press, Sanz said this is one of the most complicated campaigns in living memory, "especially because of the drought and the new regulations regarding plant protection products."
“The banning of nematicidal and fungicidal treatments in the preparation or reseeding phase, with no alternatives on the part of the administration, is a disastrous approach for our crops. We must take into account the climate and the characteristics of the latitude where we are, which favor the proliferation of species that attack strawberry plants," he said.
In this regard, he stressed, the banning of these products is leading to "a considerable decrease in production; one of the major issues in this campaign." "In addition, it puts us at a disadvantage compared to other producing countries, so we require the administration to either reconsider the measure or to offer truly effective alternatives,” he added.
Moreover, this is the first campaign after the signing of the new labor agreement. "I think we have achieved a balanced work framework, considering that we started from a very complicated situation," he said.
Sanz also said that recruitment at source was important for the sector, but that it didn't even account for 10% of the total workers of the berry campaign.
This year Asaja Huelva has hired for its partner companies some 5,000 workers at source in Morocco, Honduras, and Ecuador; these last two countries within the pilot program launched last year by the Government. In addition, after several years without being able to do so due to the pandemic, this year it's been possible to select new workers in both Morocco and Honduras.
Source: abc.es / Europa Press