The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development will issue in the coming days the final resolutions of the Operational Groups aimed at pilot innovation projects. "A total of 42 projects have been approved for a total of ten million euros, of which 13 are on agri-food topics and will have three million euros; 14 are on agriculture with aid of 3.3 million and the remaining 15 are focused on livestock and will add up to aid of 3.6 million".

This was announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, Julián Martínez Lizán, in Tomelloso, where he attended the Castilla-La Mancha Institute for Agri-food and Forestry Research and Development (IRIAF) to close a Conference on Promoting Insurance in Pistachio Cultivation. The event was attended by the representative of ENESA, Javier de León Fuentes; of Agroseguro, Javier Zarzero; the Director General of Agricultural Planning, Lydia Benítez; as well as agricultural organizations, financial entities, cooperatives, and technical specialists from the sector.

"In total, ten million euros that are fundamental in that need for innovation, to study everything that begins to surround us in commercial aspects, production costs, the inputs we need, but also how to address the difficulties that certain challenges may present us, such as farm waste, and to add value to them," emphasized Julián Martínez Lizán.

In relation to the conference, the minister stressed that the promotion of pistachio cultivation requires strengthening its insurance to guarantee stability and continuity to farms in the face of increasingly extreme climatic phenomena, as reported by the Junta in a press release.

In this regard, he highlighted that the contracting data for 2025 show the growing prominence of pistachio in the regional agricultural insurance system, with nearly 19,300 hectares insured and a premium associated with the crop of almost 1.5 million euros.

This evolution is considered essential in view of the increase in claims reflected by agricultural insurance, which places 2025 as one of the most adverse years of the last decade, with more than 332,000 hectares affected and more than 101 million euros in compensation in Castilla-La Mancha, 19% more than in the previous year. So far in 2026, more than 5,700 agricultural claims have been registered, with more than 75,000 hectares damaged, mainly in vineyards and herbaceous crops.

To encourage the hiring of policies, the Government of Castilla-La Mancha has made the greatest budgetary effort in its history, raising the 2026 agricultural insurance call to 12 million euros. "And in total since 2015, the Government chaired by Emiliano García-Page has allocated 82 million euros to support insurance contracts."

The head of Agriculture has emphasized that the regional executive's strategy to consolidate Castilla-La Mancha's leadership in pistachios —already the leading national producer and fourth worldwide— is based, in addition to insurance, on orderly, competitive, and sustainable sector development.

To this end, "we have the Strategic Pistachio Plan 2024-2028 in place, which includes the creation of the Pistachio Agri-food Interprofessional organization and support for research and knowledge transfer carried out at the El Chaparrillo research center."

The region has gone from 4,300 hectares in 2013 to more than 70,000 currently, consolidating pistachios as one of the crops with the greatest future potential. The 2025 campaign concluded with a record harvest of 11,000 tons of dry pistachios, 30% above initial forecasts.

Martínez Lizán also valued the celebration of this conference, organized in collaboration with technical, financial, and insurance entities linked to the agri-food sector, which emerged from the working groups promoted by the Agriculture Service together with agricultural organizations, after noting the need to address pistachios from an integral perspective: agronomic, economic, financial, and insurance-related.

Exceptional approval of phytosanitary products for pistachio trees

Finally, the counselor has detailed that Castilla-La Mancha has an exceptional authorization for the marketing and use of plant protection products formulated based on Acetamiprid 20% intended for the control of the green mosquito, clitra, black scale, and psyllid in the pistachio crop.

This authorization will be valid for this crop from May 26 to August 4, 2026, both inclusive. Among the established limitations, its application on pistachio trees is prohibited when the fruit shell is open.

Likewise, he has urged strict adherence to the conditions of use set forth in the resolution, in order to ensure the safety of the treatment. The resolution can be consulted on the website of the Ministry.

Source - https://www.democrata.es