Almeria's vegetable crops are being heavily attacked by whiteflies, thrips and viruses; as a result, COAG Almeria has issued a call for growers "to contact their nearest COAG office or the District Agricultural Office (OCA) to provide them with reports on losses and crop damage," state sources from the agricultural organization.
COAG reminded how important it is for producers to fill in these damage reports so that the losses being suffered by the sector can be properly registered. In this sense, the agricultural organization "asked the Ministries of Agriculture and Finance for a tax exemption for Almeria's agricultural sector due to the high incidences of virus diseases, whiteflies and thrips and the impact of adverse weather conditions. The high temperatures recorded at the moment, not characteristic of November, are creating the ideal conditions for pests and diseases to proliferate."
"Many producers are being forced to destroy their crops totally or partially because of the presence of viruses, which together with the price crisis has resulted in a premature end of the campaign and, consequently, losses," notes the agricultural organization.
Last August, COAG Almeria already warned of the presence of the first whitefly pests and viruses from the spring-summer crops; a situation that has been getting worse later in the campaign. "It is crucial for producers to enforce extreme safety measures and hygiene in the affected greenhouses to prevent the diseases and pests from spreading to nearby farms," they say.
More information:
Andrés Góngora Belmonte
Provincial Secreary COAG Almeria
Tel. +34 619 301 754