Hundreds of thousands of fruits trees, and among them, 46 generators throwing silver iodide into the atmosphere to prevent hailstorms; this image, familiar for decades in the fields of Lerida, Spain, has not been seen since 2005, when the regional Government discontinued the funding of the equipment. The storms that have recently spoiled a part of the harvest have reopened the debate about whether the chemical should be used again or not in 204,000 hectares of fruit and cereal plantations in the regions of Segrià, Pla d’Urgell, Urgell and Garrigues.
Growers reached a full consensus about this, as since June, according to the Department of Agriculture, 55,000 hectares (17,000 of which of fruit trees) have been damaged by hailstorms, which according to preliminary estimations caused the loss of 2,000 jobs. "When hail damages even extensively grown crops, such as cereals, the outcry becomes unanimous," stated Pere Roqué, president of the Agricultural Entrepreneurs Association of Lleida (Asaja-Aeall). The two main agricultural organisations, Unió de Pagesos (UP) and Joves Agricultors i Ramaders de Catalunya (JARC), defend the need to discuss this from a scientific approach, while environmental groups criticise the use of silver iodide and question its effectiveness.
The use of this compound has been the traditional method to alter the weather conditions. Its supporters defend that it dispels fog, prevents hailstorms and increases rainfall. The compound introduces particles into the clouds which facilitate the condensation of water. The sector assures that it is used in the areas of Aragon and southern France, with good results.
Environmentalists deem it unacceptable for weather conditions to be altered.
Meanwhile, the Councillor of Agriculture, Josep Maria Pelegrí, is waiting for the results of a report being elaborated by ADV Terres de Ponent. Pelegrí says that Agriculture will not be against the project "if there is a large enough consensus to apply it and evidence that there are no environmental risks." The Councillor stressed that the final decision will be taken by scientists and growers, and thus the Government must stay out of the discussion. For now, it encourages growers to make use of anti-hail nets and insurances.
Regarding the latter, the Department of Agriculture is putting pressure on the Agrarian Insurances State Entity (Enesa), a body under the Ministry of Agriculture, to prevent a reduction of the funding for next year's insurance policies.
At the same time, the Catalan administration is working to improve its help programmes to support growers in the installation of anti-hail nets. Although the Council currently funds 40% of the necessary investment for their installation, growers point out that the setting up of the structure has an average cost of 20,000 Euro per hectare; too high a cost in this current economic climate.
Source: Elpais.com
