Fuerteventura magazine Interviews
Yamile Hernández Sar-Álvarez – Director of the School Residence of Puerto del Rosario
May 2023

David de Vera Cabrera – Councillor for Agriculture, Livestock farming, Fishing and Water

“What people want is a quality water supply”

It has hardly been one year since David de Vera started looking after the Councils for Agriculture, Livestock farming, Fishing and Water, but over those few months, many events have taken place that are worth mentioning, and this is why we meet with him again.

Can we start by talking about the brand Productos de Fuerteventura?

We started with a budget that we wanted to use to revitalise the primary sector, starting with the Biosphere Market that we have slowly been boosting, by renovating the stalls, adding background music, creating show cooking activities and masterclasses and trying to create a symbiosis between the consumer and gastronomy. We have also been working on the brand called Productos de Fuerteventura, which was created in 2009, when I was a technician at GDR Maxorata. We have been consolidating it and presented it during the Salón Gourmets fair in Madrid, and now we are preparing a stall for Madrid Fusión, in March. We are participating in collaboration with Saborea Fuerteventura (Taste Fuerteventura) and Jessica de León, the Tourism councillor. In total, we are participating in five fairs in one year.

Will FEAGA take place?

It will, and FEAGA is resuming in its original format from the 12th to the 15th of May. Although it was in a virtual format last year, this year, we are working on a new programme for visitors to enjoy. In addition to the traditional contests for native breeds, we also want to organise a monographic contest for the Presa Canario dog breed. Over 100 dogs will participate in this exhibition and assessment on a national level. The usual cheese contest will take place and we will take advantage of this connection with Canarian products. We will have a space dedicated to Products of Fuerteventura (Productos de Fuerteventura), related to traditions, where producers and cooks will work together to transform local products so that the public can sample those products for a symbolic price.

This fair will help producers during those difficult times, won't it?

Yes, it will, it is very hard for them because of the tremendous increase in the cost of materials. The sectors of agriculture and fishing need support because of the costs, the pandemic, etc. We help fishermen directly, through the guilds, to pay the harbour fees for the use of the facilities and we have also created subsidies for agriculture and livestock farming that ended in November. We didn't have time to pay out then, but they will be paid out now. There is a total of 1.900.000,00 Euros exclusively dedicated to providing support for employment. This year, we are working on new subsidies worth 3.000.000,00 Euros for the modernisation and improvement of agriculture and fishing structures.

What other projects were you able to achieve this year?

For the primary sector, one of our commitments was to improve the agricultural water supply, which we have achieved. There are two types of producers: small producers, who are not professionals, or not working full time, but who also shape the landscape of Fuerteventura and the large professional producers that create employment and participate in the economy. We have therefore increased the availability of water and sell it at the price of 0,60 per m3. For large professional producers, we have also increased the availability of water at a price of 0,50 per m3. We also eliminated the limitation for every fourmonth period and now it is worked out annually so that they can manage the water depending on their needs over the year. This is a commitment I agreed to when I started as a councillor. The whole strategic plan for the primary sector was made public until the end of March. We organised various working meetings with the professionals and we also welcomed the population so that everyone could voice their suggestions. The directives that will apply to the primary sector for the next 10 to 15 years are available on the Cabildo's website.

TAnd what can you tell us about the fishing sector?

This sector is affected very much because of the limitations that Europe has brought in for the fishing of red tuna and other tuna breeds, with the limitations that the ministry for ecology has put in place, with the limited fishing areas in International Waters and the implantation of marine wind turbines, as well as the new ministry orders regarding the Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) that limit areas to the fishing and recreational sectors. Fuerteventura is an example of the preservation of the coastal areas and resources because of the type of fishing that takes place, which is far from being intensive and is still traditional. The problem is that they joined the Canaries with the rest of the national territory, whereas our type of fishing coexists with the island.

Aren't you going to argue this with the Ministry?

We already presented pleas to the Ministry, together with the guilds, and we have spoken with the National Fishing Confederation. We even brought in a motion at Fuerteventura's Cabildo with the support of all the political parties apart from Podemos and Sandra Dominguez. We cannot allow recreational, selective and traditional fishing to disappear, with the disastrous consequences it would have for Fuerteventura's fishing sector.

Tell us about the water supply in general.

Regarding the water supply, we have had difficult times, especially in Puerto del Rosario. At present, many Ayuntamientos are carrying out repairs on their drainage networks, rainwater drainage, asphalting the roads or repairing the pavements and this kind of work often affects the water supply by creating cuts. We need to coordinate those projects with the ayuntamientos who also belong to the Consorcio (Water supply company) so that we can work together because people want a quality water supply, and they don't care who causes the problems with the supply. We had a meeting with all the ayuntamientos to ask for their collaboration and many agreements that were created are now in action, so that the work they carry out can be coordinated with the renovation of the Consorcio's water supply pipework. Some projects will be handled by the Consorcio only and others jointly with the ayuntamientos. We now need to work on the desalination plant for the island's southern area, which is our goal for this year.