The organization expresses its regret over “all the losses suffered, including property, productive potential, and biodiversity,” while offering “comforting words” to those who lost what they had worked their whole lives to achieve.
The CNA underscores the urgent need to “ensure fast, efficient, and bureaucratic-free financial aid to compensate small and medium-sized farmers and forest producers, along with assistance for animal feed in the event of pasture destruction.”
“Currently, the priority is fighting the flames on the field. However, to prevent further hardships, the Government must promptly gather the necessary resources to assess the incurred damages and loss of productive potential,” they urge.
The CNA hopes that, in collaboration with forest producers, the PSD/CDS-PP Government will establish reception and marketing parks for timber salvaged from the fires. These should be at minimum prices to offer some income to the affected small and medium producers, clean the forests, and protect the environment, water resources, and soil.
Beyond immediate measures to mitigate the “detrimental effects of the fires that cyclically” hit the country, there is a call to “go far beyond the plans and announcements of successive Governments.”
“Necessary measures for effective forest management must be implemented on the ground, starting with combating the low prices imposed on forest production, a major reason for the current state of many thousands of hectares,” the statement reads.
The CNA also recalls having already reported that “the vast scale of these fires confirms the seriousness of the error constituted by the drastic reduction (-44%) of forest support as part of the third reprogramming of the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan (PEPAC) for 2023-2027, decided by the Government and the Minister of Agriculture against the opinion of all sector agents.”
The executive is reminded of the “worrying 38% cut in funds allocated to agriculture and forestry, as stated in the European Commission’s proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034.”
Since Monday, numerous rural fires have affected mainland Portugal, particularly in the North, Center, and Alentejo regions, necessitating the evacuation of villages.
Many people, including firefighters and civilians, received assistance, with no reports of serious injuries. No homes were reported destroyed, but forest, agricultural, and livestock areas, along with annexes and similar structures, were burned.
In a briefing with Lusa around 07:30 today, Pedro Araújo from the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) noted that the most significant fires that morning were in Ponte da Barca (Viana do Castelo district) and Penafiel (Porto), with the fires in Arouca (Aveiro) and Paredes (Porto) being under control or in resolution.
The fires in Penafiel and Ponte da Barca each had two active fronts, necessitating the protection of homes by firefighters.
According to ANEPC, the fire in Ponte da Barca, ongoing since Saturday, had involved 639 operatives supported by 216 ground units and three aerial units as of 12:40.
Concerning the Penafiel fire, at the same time, there were 207 security and rescue personnel on site, supported by 62 vehicles and two aerial units, and it was already in resolution.
