Domingo Martin, the president of the Association of Organizations of Producers of Bananas of the Canary Islands (Asprocan), said La Palma could recover ninety percent of its banana production in two years if there were no problems with irrigation facilities.
Martin spoke at the Canary Islands Parliament to the island's reconstruction commission after the volcanic eruption and highlighted the subsector's commitment to betting on cultivation after many farmers had thought about throwing in the towel and collecting compensation for the lost land. "We had a very bad time," he acknowledged. After the eruption, the island's banana began to depreciate, with differences of up to 40 cents compared to the product from Tenerife. Unfortunately, the promotional campaign to help the crop damaged by the ash was useless, he added.
He also said that the aid they received was reasonable and that the Posei was helping. He highlighted the strategic nature of the banana for the entire island, as it makes maritime traffic attractive and cheapens fertilizers, and stressed that the island's water management had to change because it was medieval.
Regarding the ground buried by lava, he defended the terraces project proposed by ASPROCAN as it would allow making greater use of the surface, better natural adaptation to the ground, a more efficient design of the roads, and a lower overall cost compared to that of individual recovery. However, he acknowledged that carrying it out would take no less than four or five years.
The president of the Palmera Association of Farmers and Livestock (Aspa), Miguel Martin, has called for the closure of the insular water ring, the construction of new roads, the creation of a unit to create new land on the casting, and that the margins are destined for new crops, such as avocado or grape.
Source: elapuron.com