The chairman of the Island Council, Casimiro Curbelo has announced the initiation of the procedure for registration of the first association of Gomeran stockbreeders. He explains that the insular corporation has promoted and supported the creation of this grouping, which will be founded with the aim of uniting all workers and employers in the sector and protecting the interests of the collective.

"The initiative is coordinated by the Council's Area of Agriculture, which has held various meetings with livestock farmers and lends its support and technical expertise to this sector, having its activity on the rise with a consolidated product such as the Gomeran cheese", he adds.

The chairman of the insular institution states that the Island Council has been involved in the creation of the new grouping with actions such as offering assistance in processing the necessary documentation, but points out that the stockbreeders themselves must lead the way of this first and very necessary association, because so far there is no organized group of livestock farmers on La Gomera. According to him, Gomeran cheese is being exported to European Union countries such as Germany, where it has found an excellent response from the markets, and therefore he encourages all local producers to get involved.

"At present La Gomera has about 150 stockbreeders and an ample livestock, which allow to be optimistic when facing the reality of this sector, without forgetting that we speak of a kind of labor that requires a lot of dedication and great sacrifices", adds the counselor of agriculture, Emiliano Coello, who sees hopeful prospects for the sector on the island.

Coello states that the association is due to improve the conditions of the sector on an insular and regional level, and the support of the Island Council is guided solely by the interest of promoting unity of the producers, who themselves shall define the lines of action to follow. He also explains that six stockbreeders from different parts of the island have formed a group committed to creating the constituent association, which once recorded and formalized will be presented and will seek to integrate other members of the sector.

Both the chairman and the counselor of agriculture of the Island Council insist on the importance and potential for development shown by stockbreeding, as part of the primary sector of the island. This sector is seen by the Council as a vital complement to the development of sustainable tourism on La Gomera and as a factor improving the living conditions of the island's residents.

"Livestock farming, as well as agriculture and fishing, are the foundations of traditional Canarian economy, a pillar that has suffered progressive abandonment, but still holds a major potential which the public administrations must help rescue and foster", Curbelo concludes.