If there’s one thing that sets winter vegetables apart, it’s that they need low temperatures to grow properly.. And given that the cold is conspicuous in its absence, with disastrous consequences for nearly all crops, that’s exactly what they’re missing this season. To begin with, the harvest of symbolic crops such as artichokes, cauliflower or broccoli in the province of Alicante was reduced by about 30%, resulting in poor quality. This situation, along with the decreasing demand in the markets due to abnormal temperatures, causes the prices to fall and the producers to be helpless. Worse still, climate change is here to stay, and the situation this year seems to be recurring more and more often.
The usual production of winter vegetables in the province of Alicante, especially concentrated in the Camp d’Elx and Vega Baja regions, is usually about 50,000 tons, of which about 40,000 correspond to artichokes and the rest to products such as broccoli, cauliflower. and to a lesser extent potatoes, broad beans and romanesco. Again, If the current situation continues, this year’s harvest will barely exceed 35,000 tons..
The factor that caused this disaster was the temperatures that did not fall an iota what would be expected for such a season. As Antonio Ángel Hurtado, president of Alcachofa Vega Baja, explains, “We’ve been experiencing a greater thermal jump between day and night since Christmas, but still, temperatures are springhaving a direct impact on crops”.
The direct result was a drop in production, originally estimated at 30%. But not only that, because quality is also affected. “We see that the artichokes—noticeable—do not come out as tight as they should and barely weigh in. Cauliflower and broccoli are also speckled.”
markets
However, things do not end here as the markets do not work as they should. According to Hurtado, “people are used to eating these products in the winter, and as I said, it looks like we’re in the spring. The result is that Demand has dropped at all levels, both in Spain and in other countries we export to, such as France, Germany or Italy.where the temperatures are still warm too.
And all this is having an effect on the rapidly falling prices again. In particular, while the artichokes should be 1.20 per kilo, they are paid between 80 cents and 1 euro, while broccoli and cauliflower are traded between 35-40 cents, “so they are not profitable at the moment,” warns Hurtado.
Even other crops that are not directly considered winter vegetables, but grown at this time, such as salads, suffer from the scourge of high temperatures. «Their growth has accelerated and they gather and accumulate in the fields without a commercial outlet.“, mint.
Pedro Valero, producer and head of Asaja in Elche, expresses himself in similar terms. “The lack of cold causes a fungus problem, especially in broccoli, while the artichoke plant has less vegetation, which directly affects their production. In addition, they do not look good in the eyes of consumers and are smaller in size, which prevents them from being marketed. But is this? We have never seen such a warm winter, with temperatures regularly reaching 22 or 23 degrees Celsius.very ugly for a time like this.”
Transfer
In addition to all this, Valero adds threats of interruption in the Tajo-Segura transfer., reducing fields. “People – he explains – are afraid to plant because they don’t know what will happen to their water supply. Also, the cost of both water and materials such as fuel, fertilizers and phytosanitary products is rising so dramatically that we’re witnessing a perfect storm because in a priceless environment, the farmer’s pocket is touched. . accompany ».
José Luis Miralles, La Unió’s representative at Camp d’Elx, highlights climate change and the threat it poses to traditional crops in the region. “Before we could attend parts of them in time, but we see that Rising winter temperatures are becoming structural», he emphasizes. Miralles also refers to prices. “No matter how high it gets – he says – producers never benefit, because eventually big distribution chains and supermarkets get it, so everything works against maintaining agricultural activity.”
This context of global warming is the source of projects such as the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), the Supreme Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and projects conducted by the company BASF aimed at identifying the permissive genes in artichoke. should be grown in warmer environments. It is an initiative that the industry looks forward to with hope, as it will allay the fears prevailing in the industry regarding rising thermometers, as well as the commercial advantages of making this product available almost all year round. . The problem is, it is unknown when these investigations will bear fruit.
Agriculture in Alicante closes worst year due to weather anomalies
Agriculture in the province of Alicante has just closed another forgettable year. Not surprisingly, this year is the worst in memory for the industry, above all due to a series of meteorological adverse events that could be classified as anomalous and directly linked to climate change. In addition, problems such as rising costs and competition from third countries, which in many cases are unfair, put farmers in a difficult position.
One of the biggest victims has been olive cultivation. The endless rains in the spring and the high temperatures in May caused a great deal of defoliation on the trees by the fungi. To this must be added the frosts and continuous rains that continue throughout the flowering season, which affect the set of olives and cause an estimated 70% decrease in production.
Another of the crops that suffered the consequences of adverse weather conditions was cherries. The main enemy of this fruit is rain, and it was present throughout the cycle for the past year. At first it was in full bloom with 20 consecutive days of rain preventing pollination. The cherries that survived this initial storm succumbed to rain and hail for another week later, which kept the harvest to a minimum. The rains damaged the peach, apricot and plum harvest in different parts of the province as well as the medlar harvest in Marina Baixa. Add to this the 40% drop in almond production due to tiger plague and the losses in the fig campaign due to the severe summer heat.
Citrus is another of the crops that has suffered a severe setback, despite heavy fruit inflows from South Africa during the first half of the campaign and later from Turkey, Egypt, Israel and Morocco.