Enrique Pérez: Streamlining and Accelerating Aid to the Primary Sector

The 38th edition of FEAGA has kicked off in Pozo Negro with strong institutional backing and, above all, with broad participation from Fuerteventura’s primary sector.

In a context marked by economic uncertainty and rising costs, the President of the Cabildo, Lola García, defended the need to strengthen unity to protect an activity tied to the island’s identity and highlighted the significance of this fair, now celebrating its 38th year.

“This is their festival; it is held to recognize and showcase the work of the women and men of the primary sector,” she emphasized during an interview on La Voz de Fuerteventura on Radio Insular, accompanied by the Primary Sector Councilor, Enrique Pérez.

It was the sector head himself who explained that the Cabildo has chosen to listen to ranchers, farmers, and fishermen’s guilds to adapt subsidies to their real needs.

“What they asked us for is to focus the aid on the investment line,” he said. He added that the institution is already working on amending the guidelines to finalize them this month or, failing that, the next, with the aim of “opening that aid line, that grant call before the summer” and being able to disburse the funds “in October or November.”

The fair also served to honor the memory of the Majorero countryside. Lola García highlighted the tribute to the commissioners of Betancuria and Antigua, describing them as “a source of pride for Fuerteventura,” while also emphasizing the recognition of “the hard work” carried out by the women and men of the sector on an arid island like Fuerteventura.

FEAGA also celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Majorero Cheese Denomination of Origin, a label that Enrique Pérez called “fundamental.”

“It was the first goat‑cheese denomination of origin in all of Spain,” he recalled.

The continuity of the Gran Tarajal livestock cycle was another key news item of the day. García confirmed that it will proceed once an error in the educational platform is resolved and defended that “we will continue with that livestock cycle because it is essential.” In her view, training and innovation are crucial to guarantee generational renewal and to turn the primary sector into “an employment opportunity and a source of quality jobs.”