The Association of Farmers and Shepherds of the North revealed today that 50% of its members have reduced their flocks and 20% have even stopped farming due to the lack of water and the scarcity of cereals to feed the animals.
“We’re in a complicated phase because of the lack of water and then there’s the problem of feeding the animals. There’s a shortage of hay and straw, a lot of the straw came from Spain and this year the Spaniards are having the same problem, so it’s proving problematic. In fact, many of the members are getting rid of their animals because they have no way of feeding them. More than 50% are reducing their livestock and 20% have even lost their small ruminant herds, sheep and goats,” said João Morais, speaking to Lusa.
The director of the Association of Farmers and Shepherds of the North (APT) says that this option has been taken even by farmers with “some financial capacity” in the face of rising feed costs.
“Although they are managing to sell the product and, in the case of cattle, there has even been a slight increase in price, this increase doesn’t make up for the food part, since feed has increased almost threefold,” he explained.
As far as cereals are concerned, João Morais’ main concern is the growing population of wild boar and corsos, a problem for which, despite several appeals, no effective solution has yet been found.
“Corn is no longer grown very much in Trás-os-Montes and one of the main causes is wild boar attacks. It’s been absurd, particularly in the district of Vila Real where there have been many, both on the corn crop and even on hay,” he said.
Presented in May, the Wild Boar Strategic and Action Plan, promoted by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, concluded that Portugal has an overpopulation of wild boar – between 300,000 and 400,000 – which needs to be reduced in order to mitigate damage to agriculture and the occurrence of road accidents.
In July, Anpromis – the National Association of Maize and Sorghum Producers – revealed that the damage caused by wild boars to maize crops last year amounted to eight million euros.
At the moment, says João Morais, the situation for farmers is even more serious than it was in 2022, with the accounts reflecting price “speculation” resulting from the war in Ukraine and the embargo on cereals.
“We have already come to the conclusion several times that those who work in agriculture have to pay to work,” he said, pointing out that the subsidies granted only serve to lower the final value of the product and do not compensate for the increase in production costs.
On August 12, the National Confederation of Agriculture (CNA), speaking to Lusa, had already warned of the “suffocating situation” in which many livestock farms in Portugal find themselves due to the prolonged drought, lamenting the lack of “effective measures” to mitigate the impact of this problem on the sector.
At the time, the confederation also warned that the price of animal feed remains very high, leaving many livestock farms in a “situation of suffocation”, and several “may not be able to withstand” another consecutive year of drought.
According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), the grain harvest was the worst ever for all species, in an agricultural year once again marked by the drought affecting 96.9% of the mainland.
According to the same document released on August 18, the “scarce production of green matter for grazing” has led to an anticipation of supplementation for extensive livestock farming, resorting to preserved food.
