Solidarity campaign in the countryside: bales are delivered to help producers affected by the fires in the south of the country

The president of the Argentine Rural Confederations (CRA), Carlos Castagnani , visited producers affected by the fires in the south and called for “structural planning” to address this and other problems.

In addition, the entity, together with the Federation of Rural Societies of Río Negro, announced that they will collaborate with the delivery of bales and other actions.

The leaders of these entities visited the producers affected by the fires in the province of Río Negro , expressing their commitment to bring their needs to the national and provincial authorities, given that the fire destroyed pastures and infrastructure of all kinds, which will take years to return to the production levels prior to the fire.

In some plots, the heat of the flames reached 900°C and the soil was affected , as explained by Mauro Sarasola, director of the INTA Experimental Station in Bariloche, who took part in the visit to the victims.

For now, the rural societies of Conesa, Viedma, Choele Choel and Río Colorado have launched a solidarity campaign to collect bales of grass , and they hope to coordinate with the provincial authorities the logistics to carry out the distribution.

Today, the producers are part of the volunteer teams that keep the fires at bay, which are still active in the Manso area, and they do not want to abandon that “trench”.

Meanwhile, planes make their drops every hour and fifteen minutes, and helicopters every 10 minutes.

“We came to contribute and make ourselves available,” said Nora Lavayén, president of the federation that brings together all the rural societies of the province. She explained that “from the federation we have put together a schedule of help and we are going to send several teams of grass to the rural societies, and anything else they need. What we agreed on is the importance of making a schedule, because this situation that we are experiencing today goes beyond the moment when the fires end. That is why the idea is, over time, to be able to send fodder.”

The leader was accompanied by other members of the Federation of Rural Societies of Río Negro, such as Luis “Catu” Sacco and Daniel Lavayén.

In a meeting with members of the Agrarian Association of El Manso and El Foyel, Castagnani promised to take their concerns to the next meeting scheduled for the first days of March with the national government authorities.

“Perhaps this is one of the first issues to be raised, because what we are experiencing is not only material damage, but also damage to families, to people who are left homeless, who do not want to leave their place. And this damage must be resolved as soon as possible, and I also believe that Justice must begin to act so that this does not happen again,” said the CRA leader.

In discussions with producers, the prevailing idea was that intentional actions had started the fires.

The producers of El Manso, led by the president of the association that brings them together, Lisandro Lanfré, stated that one of the serious problems affecting them (the community covers 90,000 hectares) is that on one side of the Manso River it is under the jurisdiction of National Parks (it is the border of the Nahuel Huapi National Park), and on the other side of the province of Río Negro.

As for the parks, their participation in the brigades that fight the fires is limited. Their opinions are not taken into account and even members of the Forest Fire Prevention and Fighting Service (SPLIF), which depends on the province of Río Negro, have had difficulties in entering.

Castagnani considered it appropriate to intercede with the Secretary of Tourism, Environment and Sports, Daniel Scioli, who is in charge of National Parks. The agrarian leader highlighted “the spirit of the local people.”

“I am impressed that, despite the fact that there were people who lost everything, they are already thinking and working on rebuilding what they lost and thinking about how to move forward,” he said.

On this subject, he said that “it is our obligation as an entity to listen to them, and from CRA to make all arrangements with the national authorities. We are not civil servants, but as an entity, we have access and it is our objective to convey this serious problem to see how we can help.”

Producers from Mallín Ahogado were also heard. They spoke, among the ruins of what was once their home, with Jorge Fuswinkel, who has been living there for 30 years. Together with his wife and children, they search through the ashes to recover some tools. There are rows of charred apple trees.

Most of the producers interviewed by the leaders are diversified, and have herds of cows, sheep, grow fine fruits and provide tourist services.

The tour ended in El Bolsón, where the agricultural leaders met with Mayor Bruno Pogliano, who detailed the social damage caused by the fires, which destroyed even the most intimate memories of families, and the reconstruction plans underway that he is implementing together with the provincial government.