Agriculture Minister Isaura Navarro presented to the European Committee of the Regions: Pioneering research project developed by the Valencian Agricultural Research Institute (IVIA) to prevent and combat the Huanglongbing (HLB) plague. An exhibition where Navarro insists that “the whole of the European Union must fight together, if we Valencians do this we cannot be effective against the plague and we need the participation and commitment of all of Europe to protect our citrus”.
Along these lines, the councilor also pointed to the importance of conveying the concerns of the Valencian countryside to the European institutions.We offer solutions because we invest more than 30 million a year in research against agricultural pests and certainly IVIA is an international benchmark in these struggles”.
The results are certainly the result of publicity and funding by Agriculture in recent years for this ambitious Valencia defense project seeking HLB infection-tolerant plant material.
As Navarro emphasizes, the results of this research on HLB are “an achievement and an antidote to prevention.” especially, The introduction and breeding of a parasitoid and a complete epidemiological study of HLB have been developed, as well as rapid diagnostic kits..
Navarro insisted on a greater commitment than all of Europe, wanting to highlight the need for greater efforts in agricultural science and research to contribute to a safer, more sustainable and profitable agriculture.
Even though the HLB plague has not yet been detected in Europe, it warned: “If it enters, the lemon could destroy 60% of our culture.It’s a problem we want to avoid, and that’s why we did this research and prevention work.”
More Resources for Xylella
At the same time, the minister went to European Commission headquarters to hold a meeting with Bernard Van – Goethem, director general for Health and Food Safety, who wanted more resources for xylella-affected replanting. A relative proposal to improve conditions for dealing with phytosanitary problems, well received by European representatives.
Asaja-Alicante also attended the event in Bruiselas this morning. The association traveled to the European city to express the strong commitment of the Community of Alicante and Valencia to the citrus industry and Demand that the European Union take urgent measures to prevent this plague from reaching the fields and demand powerful tools to combat and eradicate it. In this line, Asaja warns that if this is not the case, we will have to grieve for the very serious consequences with strong economic, social and environmental impacts in our region.
“The agricultural sector in Alicante knows how difficult it is to combat a bacterial disease in our fields and the dire consequences it causes,” said José Vicente Andreu, president of Asaja-Alicante, which is also a lemon producer. oranges at Vega Baja del Segura. In this sense, the association had to abandon the disastrous consequences of xylella fastidiosa and its eradication protocol and mass cutting, as a result of the uprooting of 187,400 almond trees and the razing of 2,620 hectares of land in the Montaña de Alicante regions to date, and the activities of hundreds of farmers.
As is known, the threat of HLB to the Valencian citrus industry becomes more real after one of its vectors, Tryoza erytreae, has been detected in Spain and Israel, and the even more dangerous Diaphorina citri in parts of Africa. It is therefore an absolute priority for Asaja-Alicante to know firsthand the actions being taken and to remind Europe of the importance of the citrus sector in the Valencian Community. and the social engine of the region and society. Likewise, the business claims the need to make this pest visible in Brussels and act sufficiently early and vigorously to protect the above-mentioned crop and its dependent farmers by carrying out controls on imports from Israel, Turkey and Egypt. More than 9,200 full-time employees work in every citrus campaign in Alicante; Concentrate more than 50% in lemon, 25% in mandarin and 25% in orange. In terms of economic volume, the province produces more than €209 million gross production.
The recent balance of the first part of Asaja-Alicante’s citrus campaign, covered with the fine lemon variety, shows that although origin prices have improved from the previous two years, origin prices are on the rise. origin prices are about 50% (0.35-0.40 e/kg wood), this It did not allow us to maintain a certain margin of profitability and face energy and fuel costs that rose more than 55% in the same period.. To this we must add a significant drop (-19%) in lemon exports due to the severe consumer crisis that our main customer, Germany, is experiencing due to inflation.
Last week, the president of the association warned of some of the threats facing the next campaign: Europe’s consumer crisis due to inflation, water security problems in Spain’s main citrus producing regions, something that will only affect farmers. This could mean increased production costs and tackling potential pests and infections affecting our crops.