Fuerteventura bets on an agricultural future
Meeting to strengthen the primary sector
The Cabildo of Fuerteventura and the Government of the Canary Islands held a working meeting to coordinate measures that will support the island’s primary sector and safeguard its competitiveness. The session was chaired by Cabildo president Lola García and regional minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Narvay Quintero, and was attended by island minister Enrique Pérez, director‑general of Livestock Andrés Díaz Matoso, the mayors of the island’s municipalities and other local representatives.
“We need to establish recovery measures that guarantee the viability of our livestock, agricultural and fishing activities, which play a key role in the Majorero economy and suffer important limitations due to double insularity and our status as an outermost region,” said García.
“We must wait for the Council of Ministers on Friday to see whether the Spanish Government will articulate concrete measures to mitigate the cost overruns caused by the war, or whether the EU will adopt a framework regulation similar to the one applied to Russia and Ukraine, which would allow us to implement direct aid from the Canary Executive,” added Quintero.
Agro‑environmental aid under the Strategic PAC Plan
- Producers on Fuerteventura will receive €2.26 million of the €7.9 million total funding allocated for agro‑environmental commitments in the 2025‑2026 period.
- The allocation has been increased twice: from €3.8 million (PDR) to €6.61 million (PEPAC) and now to €7.9 million (PEPAC).
- The average grant per applicant rises from €11,098 to €21,746, benefitting 104 farmers and livestock owners.
- Over the five‑year programming horizon, the total amount for the Canary Islands grows to €39.8 million, up from €27 million under the previous plan.
These subsidies support:
- Integrated production systems
- Cochineal cultivation on prickly pear (tunera)
- Beekeeping as a biodiversity‑preserving activity
- Soil‑improvement measures and erosion control (gabions, retaining walls, pit cultivation in La Geria, hedgerows)
- Transhumance and pasture maintenance
- Conservation of pure native livestock breeds threatened with extinction
- Protection of local plant varieties at risk of genetic erosion
Modernising irrigation water
A joint project to modernise irrigation water in the central‑south zone of Fuerteventura will:
- Serve 289 irrigators and 152 ha of cultivated land
- Involve a total investment of €9.25 million
- Allocate €5.9 million for the first phase, awarded to Tragsa, with the replanteo act to be signed shortly
- Include a newly commissioned desalination plant for agricultural use, costing €1.6 million and capable of producing 2,500 m³ of water
Upcoming FEAGA 2026
The next edition of the Feria de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca (FEAGA) will take place from 16 to 19 April 2026 at the Experimental Agricultural Farm of Pozo Negro.
New Multi‑annual Financial Framework (2028‑2034)
The European Commission’s proposal for the 2028‑2034 Multi‑annual Financial Framework (MFF) was a key topic, especially regarding its impact on Majorero agriculture, livestock and fisheries.
- Narvay Quintero referenced the “Horizonte RUP” meeting held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which gathered representatives from Spain, France, Portugal and the outermost regions to forge a common stance.
- The meeting concluded with a joint declaration outlining a shared roadmap to defend differentiated treatment for outermost regions and to safeguard essential instruments for their economic, social and territorial development, particularly in agriculture and fisheries.
“We must push for a higher POSEI allocation based on rigorous technical evidence. European Commission reports show a 40 % rise in production costs for Canary producers in recent years, creating a clear competitive disadvantage compared with continental territories due to distance, insularity and territorial fragmentation,” stated Quintero.
The strategy, developed since the start of the legislative term, involves close collaboration between the Canary Government, the primary sector, island cabildos and other regional administrations to secure the necessary financial adjustments for the coming programming period.