The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development celebrates the patron saint of farmers and ranchers in Nava de Arévalo, Ávila, where she has indicated that the increase in surface area points to a 4% growth in winter cereals and has expressed her confidence that the good appearance of the field will translate into profitability for the sector.
May 15, 2025
Castilla y León |
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development
The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development, María González Corral, has participated in the events commemorating the feast day of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers, held in Nava de Arévalo, Ávila, where she conveyed a message of recognition, pride, and commitment to the agricultural sector and its contribution to the rural development of Castilla y León.
«Today is a day to express gratitude and value the essential work carried out by farmers and ranchers, whose work is essential for everyone’s sustenance,» emphasized the minister, who highlighted the pride of dedicating oneself to a profession «with a deep historical root and an increasingly connected future to innovation, technology, and digitalization.»
González Corral also highlighted the traditional and spiritual aspect of this day, recalling the figure of San Isidro as a symbol of humble life, work in the field, and connection with the land. «Today we ask San Isidro to protect the harvest and take care of those who work day in and day out so that the field signifies development for our towns.»
Increase in Surface Area
The minister reviewed the current agronomic situation, marked by a favorable evolution of winter cereals. According to the Ministry’s surface area progress, it is estimated that the seeded surface area of winter cereals will increase by 4% compared to the previous campaign, reaching 1.7 million hectares, with wheat and barley as the predominant crops (795,000 and 667,000 ha, respectively). The final data will not be known until the deadline for the CAP application, on May 31.
In this regard, she reiterated that the government works to reduce production costs and enhance the sector’s competitiveness, with policies ranging from the modernization of irrigation and rural infrastructure to the implementation of renewable energies, variety research, and digitalization. Among the most outstanding actions, she mentioned interventions in 76,000 hectares of rural infrastructure linked to land consolidation, the boost to irrigation with the aim of starting transformation or modernization actions in 30,000 hectares of irrigation, and the investment of 63 million euros in photovoltaic energy for irrigation communities, which will enable reaching 92,300 hectares with sustainable irrigation, 50% more than planned. All these measures are aligned with a priority objective of the Ministry: to promote generational renewal. «In the last call, aid was granted to 673 young people, which has increased to 100,000 euros per beneficiary. This year, we will launch a new call,» she announced. Finally, the minister announced that a new meeting of the Agricultural Council of Castilla y León will be held next Wednesday in Medina del Campo, coinciding with the Demoagro fair. During the meeting, progress will be made on the document outlining Castilla y León’s position in the post-27 CAP negotiation.