Meeting in the department. The President of Confagricoltura Mele: “the face-to-face meeting was positive, but now we are working to resolve the too many emergencies on the table”
Cagliari, 22 May 2024 – “We positively evaluate the meeting that took place yesterday afternoon in the Department of Agriculture and convened by the councilor Gian Franco Satta, with the participation of the Argea and Laore agencies. Specifically, we appreciate the will shown in wanting to intervene immediately on the too many emergencies that loom over the sector, also in collaboration with the agricultural trade associations and with the respective Agricultural Assistance Centers (CAA).
At the top of the list, and with little time to act, there is the block on the compilation of aid applications for the 2024 CAP campaign and therefore the block on requests for the assignment of fuel with subsidized excise duty in agricultural activity. A condition that is putting the CAA in great difficulty, which has long been reported to the competent offices, which risks preventing important resources from reaching the companies”. The president of Confagricoltura Sardegna, Paolo Mele, said this regarding the meeting held in the offices in via Pessagno in Cagliari and requested by Confagricoltura through a long document sent to councilor Satta in recent days.
Meeting in the department: the statements of the President of Confagricoltura Mele
Question block
In fact, the letter states that “from the 2024 campaign the new company file will be fully applied which is mainly based on the new National Soil Charter (CdSN), an application which is currently causing quite a few critical issues in the file processing activity”. This innovation adds to the continuous disservices in the functioning of the SIAN (National Agricultural Information System) which “places operators in the near impossibility of carrying out activities once considered elementary, such as the creation and updating of the company file.
At a regional level – it is always remembered in the letter – we are witnessing a situation of waiting on the part of Argea OP and, consequently, of the Agriculture Department regarding the definition of the operational instructions for the presentation of the Single Application (DU) for payment and the applications of the PSR/CSR. A condition of uncertainty which will certainly have repercussions on the processing times of the applications and consequently on the disbursement of aid to businesses”.
Fuel assignment
Another issue, a cause of concern for producers, largely linked to the difficulties in operating in the new company file, is that relating to the compilation of requests for the assignment of fuel with subsidized excise duty. In fact, “since the necessary prerequisite for submitting the application for basic assignment is the presence of a validation of the SIAN file in the current year, the only possibility was, at the moment, to submit an application for an advance which however allows an allocation equal to only 50% of the previous year’s quantity. An extremely limiting condition, which also excludes those who have not had an assignment in the past, such as newly formed companies or those that have changed their name or corporate structure. Added to this is the approaching deadline for submitting requests, set for 30 June”.
“As Confagricoltura – observed Mele – we also asked Laore for an organizational effort so that in this phase, which is so important in agricultural activity, all companies have the opportunity to present the application for the final allocation, also aware that the operational difficulties, of a technical and informative nature, are not attributable to the regional Agency”.
Updating of the viticultural index
“Another problem that can no longer be postponed – reported in the letter – concerns the updating of the viticultural register, with the information from the new CdSN, and the correction and resolution of anomalies. The Department of Agriculture had chosen for some time to assign this activity to the CAA, with objective implementation difficulties. Yesterday, however, he informed us that he had written to the Agea coordination body reviewing this choice and providing for the activity to be carried out by the Argea offices. We can only evaluate this request positively and we hope that it will be accepted by Agea”.
Old questions
Another point reported to the councilor concerns the numerous companies that have not yet received, not even partially, the DU and PSR/CSR payments due for the 2023 campaign and for previous ones.
Finally, a more specific meeting between the CAA and Argea OP was proposed, precisely to address more precisely the critical issues that emerged in the compilation of company files.
