ARGENTINA-FARMERS MEET WITH GOVERNMENT.
Leaders of the farmers who have been confronting the administration over export duties for more than a year said that they yesterday came discouraged from their fifth meeting with ministers in an month and a half, accusing the government of failing to provide solutions for a deep farm crisis, "out of ideology and rancour."
They added that in the face of the administration’s reluctance to discuss farmers’ demands of a reduction in export duties, farmers didn’t even bother to raise the issue at their meeting with Production Minister Déborah Giorgi, Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo and Agriculture Secretary Carlos Cheppi.
"We don’t want to waste our time. We will continue lobbying the duty issue in Congress," Hugo Biolcati, the head of the Argentine Rural Society told reporters. "This has been yet one more Tuesday and we are not enthusiastic. The government has adopted a permanent attitude of reproach but there are no solutions. They are acting out of ideology and rancour."
"They accuse us of seeking to export more at the expense of the bread, beef and milk of the Argentines when it is precisely all the contrary. What we want is to produce more to feed the poors in Argentina and millions of poor people in the world."
Mario Llambías, head of the Argentine Agrarian Confederation (CRA) said: "We cannot be optimistic in the short to the mid term." He added that there are municipalities in the hinterland that only get back one peso out of each 1,000 pesos the government gets in duty revenue. Asked whether the opposition Civic Coalition had invited him to run as a candidate for the Lower House in the June 28 mid-term vote, Llambías, confirmed the proposal, but added: "This is not the time for me to run as a candidate. However, this will be decided by CRA." He added: "My intention is to complete my mandate" as CRA chairman, which expires in October. He said that if former president Néstor Kirchner runs for the Lower House, "I would like to have a debate with him."
Randazzo said earlier in the day that the government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and that of her husband (2003-2007) have shown that they defended the productivity of all sectors and denied that the lack of a solution for a crisis that is leading Argentina to produce this season one third less tonnes than last season may be due to "a whim." Giorgi said that farmers want "to impose" their view on the government.
Farmers are affected by a plunge in international food prices amid the global crisis, and a severe dry spell at home, but they blame their woes mainly on government policies. They last week staged their seventh sales boycott to press their demands.
Last year the President accused them of seeking to topple her while they claim that the government is seeking to fleece them.
Argentine Agrarian federation (FAA) leader Pablo Orsolini said that the government has the tools to prevent thousands of farmers from disappearing but that it doesn’t want to use them. "We refuse to sign the death certificate of thousands of small- and mid-sized producers," he said.
Although at some point they demanded an elimination of all duties, they are demanding now an elimination just for small farmers and a segmentation for the rest. They said that they will continue to seek to convince legislators to help them get the 129-member quorum for the Lower House to debate a duty bill drawn by 18 opposition parties that recently was supported in Congress by 108 deputies. The ruling Victory Front refused to attend the session.
Farmers said that finally the government seemed ready to grant milk producers a 10-cent subsidy per litre for firms producing up to 3,000 litres a day. Edgardo Appentino, who owns a firm producing 3,000 litres a day and employing four people in Porteña, in Córdoba province, told the Herald that that subsidy would actually be "of some help," as it would mean his firm getting some 9,000 pesos a month over ten months.
