Water has always been a precious commodity in the Spanish region of Andalusia, but never more so than in these times of scarcity, which is making "growers feel suffocated," says Francisco García, a tropical fruit producer from the municipality of La Herradura, Almuñécar.
"Taking a stroll through the area where I cultivate my trees, one can see that, in general, avocados look scorched in all farms. Many growers have simply abandoned them, because there was nothing else they could do, and I am being forced to do the same," he says. "To give you an idea of the situation, from a piece of land where I should have harvested 2,600 kilos, I only managed to get 360 with very small calibers. I have harvested avocados the size of a grape, so the price at which I will manage to sell them at the cooperative will also be very low."
"It should be kept in mind that most avocado producers in Granada and Malaga are small growers who manage to earn a living from our work, and this will be a year of suffering for all. In the last two years, I have spent the savings I had from a lifetime of agricultural work, and I see that I have reached a point where, like other producers, I am going to have to throw in the towel."
"Still, my situation is not the worst, because there are people, young and old, who took loans to set up their farms and, without income, they are facing a very serious problem."
Granada's tropical fruits experienced the bitterest side of the drought last year. The avocado production alone went from the 28,227 tons recorded in the 2021/22 season to just over 17,200, according to data shared by the Government of Andalusia; a 38.8% drop. "If the situation does not change, mangoes will follow, because although they can withstand the lack of water a little better, as the tree is originally a desert plant, it has not rained enough to compensate for the salt levels in the soil, and the trees are getting scorched, just like the avocados," says Francisco.
"Morocco is soon going to start the construction of a new desalination plant, the largest in Africa, with Spanish technology"
This week, some rain has finally been forecast across Andalusia. This is as necessary at this moment as the infrastructures that the sector has been requesting for many years, and which are still lacking. "In Morocco, they are about to start building a new desalination plant, the largest in Africa, with Spanish technology, and here we are still talking about projects that will be finished at most by 2030, while we have a whole sea in front of us and no agreement on what desalination system to implement."
"What is being promoted is the use of regenerated waters, but these have such high contents of chlorides and sodium that they are not suitable for irrigation," says Francisco García. "The best water I can extract from wells in this area, which is already salinized, has chloride levels of 260, and the regenerated waters come with levels above 300. And besides the quality, we also have to consider the amount of water that agriculture needs."
"However, while local, regional, and national governments are spending a fortune on payments to managers, technical departments, and research departments, without any progress actually being made, an extraordinary meeting is scheduled in January in the irrigation community to which I belong, in which it will be proposed that the usufruct of the irrigation community's water management be granted to a large private Spanish company that will help to lower the price."
"All of this makes me wonder. Seeing the situation, who is behind all the terrain in the mountains being prepared for hectares and hectares of future plantations. And have those lands been declared as irrigated, or do they have water for their operation?"
"Another question is why no one has been able to stand up for the agricultural sector, given the situation we are in."