After a meeting in Vélez-Málaga with the local irrigation communities, the Councillor of Environment and Spatial Planning of the Government of Andalusia, José Fiscal, stated last week that the Andalusian Government will adopt immediate measures to guarantee the irrigation of subtropical crops (mainly mangoes and avocados) in the Axarquia region, which are threatened by the scarcity of water resources.
Fiscal said that the Government's objective is to give an impulse to the enforcement of the solutions which have been demanded by growers "for a long time, in a sector that is essential for the economy of Malaga and Andalusia, and which aims to continue growing."
However, the Councillor explained that, given the current water resources, with the La Viñuela reservoir at just under 58 cubic hectometres (14 less than at this time last year), the goal of expanding the acreage devoted to subtropical crops is not possible at this time.
As for the request of a water transfer from the west of Malaga to the east, he pointed out that the Government "will continue to back the initiative," but has warned that this is a matter that doesn't depend solely on the regional administration.
Also, he mentioned the restriction measure agreed last April with irrigators, which stipulated that the latter wouldn't be able to irrigate for one day a week, stating that they will assess its elimination, as it has not yielded the results expected in terms of water saving.
Fiscal hopes that the needs of the growers will be covered with all the actions that will be implemented in the short and medium term, so that it doesn't become necessary to announce a state of drought at the start of the next hydrological year.
Source: EFe
