The agricultural production numbers in the state of Guárico have shown a significant decrease caused in part by the lack of financing, failures in public services, personal and property insecurity, among others factors.
Correspondent lapatilla.1eye.us
But one of the most common problems that farmers complain about every day is the lack of asphalt and road repair work throughout the state. This compromises the harvest in areas where access is more complicated.
There are several municipalities that have been affected for many years by the lack of implementation of policies that favor farms and its workers.
According to Celso Fantinel, President of the Confederation of Associations of Agricultural Producers of Venezuela (Fedeagro), many farmers have suffered significant economic losses, resulting in a decrease in the figures related to this sector in the state.
He said that although nature and climate changes can generate negative consequences in the conditions of the roads, it is necessary to carry out various projects to meet the most pressing demands of the farmers.
On the other hand, Fantinel stressed that for more than a decade the roads in Guarico have been completely abandoned by regional and national authorities.
“In terms of agricultural roads we have serious problems. I remember the former Minister of Agriculture, Yván Gil, saying that there were more than 20,000 kilometers of agricultural roads and surely the state of Guarico is one of those with the most kilometers. What we mostly see when we visit agricultural areas is the poor condition of the roads, where state governments and mayors practically do little or nothing,” he said.
Self-management to be able to work
On the other hand, the head of Fedeagro stressed that as a result of the revolutionary neglect, the producers themselves see the need to organize themselves to fix the dusty and dilapidated roads of Guárico.
“This is where the producers put forward an invitation, they meet, they put capital and machinery to half-fix the agricultural roads. This is the common effort of our producers, to find a way to alleviate the poor condition of the roads,” he emphasized.
Along the same lines, the Guarico’s producer Rafael Meza expressed himself, stating that despite not having the same economic capacities of previous times to solve this problem, they continue to self-manage to keep their family businesses afloat.
“We as agricultural producers did that: mostly leveling activities, the patching that we used to do on rural roads, lately it has been more limited, either due to our economic condition, or due to lack of fuel, lack of granular material. So the roads have been deteriorating even further,” he explained.
Meza pointed out that it is very difficult to get the crops out of the production units on time, due to the precarious conditions of the transit routes with huge potholes, lack of paving, flooded, among other problems.
Production figures in decline
As for the figures handled by the Confederation of Associations of Agricultural Producers of Venezuela, thousands of hectares of corn, rice and sorghum were not produced in the region. Years ago, Guárico was one of the main states in agricultural production on a national scale.
“In terms of corn, the state is responsible for 20% of total production, it could even be 50%, but it is not precisely because of all these difficulties. In terms of rice, it is 45%. 160,000 hectares of sorghum used to be planted and sorghum production was stopped. Up to 100,000 hectares of rice used to be planted and now in the two cycles we can barely reach 35,000,” warned Fantinel.
He also stated that with the corresponding policies and guidelines, Guárico would currently be at the forefront in various areas of production of different foods important for the Venezuelan diet.
“This is a state that has enormous potential, but with a disadvantage compared to others, especially in the west of the country, which is this issue of agricultural roads, public services, drinking water, personal security, public transportation, electricity. It is a state that has, let’s say in most municipalities, serious problems,” he said.