Cristóvão Norte has hinted at an easing of water cuts on the agricultural sector
Farmers in the Algarve have been given a new ray of hope courtesy of Cristóvão Norte, vice-president of the PSD parliament group, who has hinted at a possible easing of the water cuts that have been imposed on the region’s agricultural sector.
“It is a fact that the Algarve has not gone from scarcity to abundance,” Norte said in a statement to the press this Tuesday, alluding to the rain that fell in the Algarve in March which helped improve water levels at regional dams.
“But it is also true that with the reservoirs more replenished – showing similar levels to the same period of 2023 – it is important to reconsider the cuts imposed on the agricultural sector, checking if there are conditions to ease the restrictions and ensure more water for farmers to produce,” the Algarve MP stated.
As he pointed out, it would be a “very important decision for the sector and for the Algarve, which, if made, should be done with certainty, security, and without creating the conviction that the problem is resolved, because it is not”.
The possibility will be discussed at the next meeting of the Permanent Commission for Prevention, Monitoring, and Follow-up of the Effects of Drought (CPPMAES), chaired by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, and the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, in Faro on May 10.
Algarve farmers will be hoping that this ray of hope will turn into a concrete easing of the water restrictions, as they have been clamouring for this since the start of April.
Norte also used the opportunity to criticise the former PS government for failing to prepare the Algarve for longer periods of drought.
“The consequences of the drought situation and water scarcity in the Algarve are a reality that could have been very different if there had been political priority from the PS government regarding this issue. However, this was not the case,” he said.
While the MP recognised that “those in power obviously cannot make it rain,” he insisted that “they can implement public investments and various decisions to mitigate the problem.”
“Even today, Algarvians wonder why the connection to Pomarão, the Foupana Dam, the desalination plant, or the rigorous combat against losses in the urban water cycle, among others, have not already been implemented,” Norte stated.
“Today, we are paying the price for political apathy and silence. It’s necessary to reclaim lost time and take measures with real impact for the future, but it’s not easy to solve the problem overnight. Anyone saying otherwise is misleading people,” he added.
michael.bruxo@portugalresident.com
