Fifty to seventy-five percent of the harvest in Belgian Limburg is estimated to have been damaged. Apples in particular are affected, because practically all of the trees are in bloom now. “Producers could not have been affected more because of the timing,” says Leen Jolling, horticultural adviser of the Boerenbond. “It was exactly the wrong time: practically all the trees were in bloom. We’ll have a much smaller apple harvest this year.”
Insufficient
She indicates that it was six degrees below zero in some place in South Limburg last week. “The problem is that it froze for several hours in a row. This means that interventions, such as braziers, frostguards and frostbusters used weren’t enough. The temperature couldn’t be increased for a few degrees with these. And because it lasted so long, people couldn’t bridge the time.”
Photos: Boerenbond.
Much affected
Leen says the apples were almost all in bloom, so that most damages are in that field. “The pears were at the end of their flowering period, but still quite fragile. I have seen that they are coloured black on the inside for some growers. The cherries that were in bloom were also much affected. I’ve heard from growers who irrigate that they have much less damage, but this wasn’t possible everywhere.”
South Limburg
She continues: “The damage percentage is difficult to estimate, especially in pears. In general, a percentage between 50 and 75 per cent is spoken of. This is possibly a bit lower in pears. We’re talking about South Limburg, where 60 per cent of Belgian fruit is grown. It froze much less severely in other regions. In Hageland it was minus 4 ºC. More to East and West Flanders, so towards the coast, it was around minus 3 ºC. Less damage is expected in those regions.”
Photo: Boerenbond.
Questionnaire
More information will follow in the coming time. “We have now made a questionnaire with Pcfruit, which growers will fill out. That way, we’ll gain more insight into the damage. In a few weeks we’ll do that again to see what the situation is like.” Growers have been shaken. “Of course, the fruit sector hasn’t been great in recent years, so when this happens, it’s just terrible. It’s one setback after another: producers are dumbfounded.” The cold has also caused damage in other European countries.
Hilde Vautmans says in her newsletter:
“It is now up to the Flemish Prime Minister to show he cares about the fate of the fruit growers. I call on the government to provide extra manpower for the 5,000 dossiers submitted for the agricultural damages of 2016. The speedy payments are crucial in many cases to guarantee the survival of the fruit growing companies,” MEP Hilde Vautmans says.
It is estimated that about 250 claim files, with agricultural plots in Sint-Truiden, will be submitted to the Flemish Disaster Fund. The maximum payment per claim file amounts to 114,700 euro with a claim amount from 250,000 euro.
For more information:
Leen Jolling
Boerenbond
Studiedienst - Adviseur Tuinbouw
E leen.jolling@boerenbond.be
T +32 16 286 415
www.boerenbond.be