Sernancelhe, Portugal,Aug 21, 2025 (Lusa) - The minister for agriculture and maritime affairs recognised on Thursday that there was a "big problem" with the chestnut groves that have burned down, since it takes more than 15 years for a chestnut tree to yield, but promised to help producers.
"My big concern is how we're going to help with yields, because a chestnut tree takes 15 or 16 years to return to yielding, while other crops are quicker. But all this is being worked on," recognised José Manuel Fernandes.
The minister was speaking to journalists at the end of a meeting this morning in Sernancelhe, in the district of Viseu, with mayors from around 30 municipalities in the north of the country affected by the fires.
"We're going to help restore productive potential. We're going to have more favourable treatment for those crops that take longer to grow, increased support for those crops and we'll have to see, on a case-by-case basis, how we can ensure that no one suffers," he said, when asked how the government would help producers.
And, repeating what the minister for the economy and territorial cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, had said a few minutes earlier, the "government, the state, must show solidarity, to be present and to do its utmost so that people don't lose their income".
José Manuel Fernandes added that the government would open up "measures to restore productive potential" and emphasised that there is "support for food" for animals, as well as a 24-hour line for requests for help, both from the government and from the municipalities.
He thanked "all those who have donated" animal feed, pointed out that the government and municipalities have a "24-hour line" for those who need help feeding animals and added that he will be taking the VAT exemption on donations to parliament.
"It doesn't make any sense for someone to make a donation and then pay VAT on top of that," he said.
He also said that teams are currently stabilising the land because, after the fires, there is rain.
There can be landslides, contaminated water, damaged reservoirs, and we also have this work underway since the beginning of the fires, he said.
IYN/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
