Farmers association fears private sector's exclusion from new fund

Pedro Rivas, the president of the National Confederation of Agricultural Producers (Fedeagro), expressed concern over the possibility that private farmers and growers can be excluded from the fund that the Venezuelan Executive Office is about to set up with resources from banks to provide assistance to the agriculture sector.

The farmers' spokesman said that if the fund is controlled by the Executive Office and is used as stated, there would be no problems. However, if "other people" who tend to exclude private entrepreneurs were part of the program, the agriculture sector would have no funds to invest. "We hope that this does not happen," Rivas said to private radio station Unión Radio.