The Basque Country Chamber of Agriculture has issued a statement explaining the situation of the sector in the face of the coronavirus crisis. The offices of the association are closed, but as you have explained, they continue to work and the working group is already mobilised.

In his view, it is "necessary" for citizens to be assured that they will have food and to this end he stressed the "importance" of farmers producing quality products in Iparralde. “We must take advantage of this crisis fundamentally to review the relationship of the population with the local crop and quickly develop the passage of eating the witness.”

The situation is not easy for many small producers, as requests for accommodation and school canteens have been cancelled, but “at the same time, some citizens have opted for producer shops and local cultivation”. Producers have in their hands a large amount of fresh food that can be lost in the short term and in Ganbara Laborantza they work to give this production to the “big public”, shortly they will make a proposal.

Moreover, because the market route is currently closed, some producers have started to offer their products live via Facebook. The House of Agriculture has strongly criticised the decision to close the peoples’ markets: “If health measures are respected, there is no more risk of the virus spreading on the market than in the supermarket.”

The association considers that markets, producer shops, nearby shops and consumer groups diversify distribution channels and reduce the “influx” of supermarkets: “These circuits are very positive against the current health situation.” By taking concrete measures for producers and customers, they are therefore calling for market adherence and have also informed the litigants.