LA PRENSA DEMÓCRATICA
Government Passes Landmark Agricultural Reforms
With the support of the Opposition, the ULG has successfully passed a set of comprehensive reforms to the Gaduri agricultural industry in order to make it more competitive on a global stage. The reforms centre largely around the idea of organic market growth and free trade, and also introduces an organisation called the Federation of Agriculture.
The first reform ends the practice of repossessing and redistributing large farms, a process which has been stifling economic growth in the sector. Instead, the size of farms shall be left to the free market, though restrictions on monopolies still apply, as in the rest of Gaduri industry. Farms will now be allowed to grow to fill the needs of both the Gaduri people and the trade interests of the nation. President Romano hailed this reform as the “beginning of the end of the socialisation of rural Gaduridos”.
The second reform creates a new independent agency called the Federation of Agriculture, which will be run by appointed industry experts. An appointments commission will be responsible for appointing high-level officials within this organisation. The Federation will be organised on a state-wide level, and will offer local and personal advice to farmers. It will also be responsible for mediating minor disputes between farms before they reach the coast, and for mediating with the Ministry for Industry and Trade about agricultural trading. The Federation’s most important function however is to allocate and award government funding for agricultural growth and investment. The government will be mandated to annually allocate funds to the agency to then reward to farms for projects and the development of farming. This will allow experts to decide the best way for the industry of agriculture to grow in Gaduridos.
The way that this funding is decided has also been reformed. The Federation of Agriculture will primarily consider the benefit that investment into particular farms will give to the industry as a whole and how it will benefit the economic condition of the nation. Prior to this, only small family farms were given any government funding. This aims to industrialise Gaduridos Agriculture.
The Federation will also attempt to protect the culture of family farming in some respects however. Advice will be offered to farmers who desire to remain traditional on how to do so. Small farmers who do not earn enough profit are also still guaranteed a minimum income under Gaduri law. Furthermore, the Federation of Agriculture will in part consider cultural preservation when awarding funding, however this should not get in the way of the priority of agricultural growth.
The reforms are controversial, even splitting government down the middle. Criticism has been drawn because many believe that the plans will end Gaduridos’ rich history of small family farming. However, the government believes that the plans will open up new avenues for trade and will help to mechanise and grow the industry to provide economic benefit and deliver on the government’s priority of economic growth.