Rice strike | Government delivered its report after the first day of talks: 'We will take measures to safeguard our production'

The rice farmers' strike on national roads has been in effect for a week . Producers and marketers are demanding better conditions for their economic activity and compliance with agreements reached with the national government on previous occasions.

On the first day of negotiations at the table between the government and representatives, various topics were discussed and concrete actions were taken regarding marketing rates, according to a report provided by the government in a video posted on social media.

At the meeting, attended by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Martha Carvajalino; the Minister of Commerce, Diana Morales; and the Deputy Minister of Social Dialogue of the Ministry of the Interior, Gabriel Rendón, the first report on the conditions discussed between the parties was delivered. However, there is still no agreement.

Carvajalino, who spoke first in the video, stated that topics discussed included "compliance with the March agreements, progress on modifying the differential rate for the agricultural sector in the water use tax," among other current issues such as the price of the harvest in the second half of this year.

According to her, domestic rice production has been under pressure from global overproduction, and there are factors that directly affect the industry's performance in the country. "We must safeguard the production of this important cereal, essential for the basic food basket of Colombians," she stated.

Finally, she stated that a technical roundtable is being held to discuss a formula proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture to establish rice prices . "We have intensified our border operations in different areas of the country to effectively combat smuggling," added Diana Morales.

In this regard, the goal is to protect domestic production from tariffs caused by the illegal entry of this product into the country. Therefore, according to Morales, "we will take measures to safeguard our production," although he did not specifically list the actions that have been taken in this regard.

For his part, the deputy minister assured that the peace talks are taking place and requested that the blockades at various points be suspended while the negotiations between the government and union representatives progress. "We have to think about the rice farmers, but also about the common people in the different departments," he began his summary.

The official indicated that they have met with government and security entities in each territory to speak with representatives in the departments and thus arrange for the lifting of the blockades. In this regard, he points out that the blockades "are not necessary at this time ," as talks are underway that will likely lead to a final agreement that will resolve the union's demands.

Finally, in a further intervention by Carvajalino, she assured that the talks will continue this Tuesday, July 22. "We ask the country to understand the importance of reaching a comprehensive agreement today," she concluded.

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