This drought already wreaking havoc on the Andalusian economy for devastating effect on the field. The grain harvest has already been lost despite the unpredictable rains in the coming months. Next Tuesday, a long list will appear in the Andalusian Parliament within the working group called for urgent action. Major agricultural organizations still do not provide figures, but warn of the drama in the making. A day later, the Ministry of Agriculture cleared the table of the drought in Spain. Everyone is late for the farmers. they carry months cry in a desertthey warn. A report from Loyola University warns 7% impact on GDP Andalusia because of the drought. With a severe economic slowdown, the impact of the epidemic on Andalusian GDP was 11%.
Great Andalusian cooperatives are already go to neighboring markets to fulfill export commitments. Non-compliance with labeling, not clearly stating where the product comes from, is a sneaky move in the face of criticism as it leads to unfair competition with farmers who do less business and do not go to other markets. Working on a European directive tighten control of this labeling. Intensive agriculture in Almería has over the years completed part of its production in Morocco, from which substantial money has come from the EU for the modernization of the agricultural sector.
Far from being an exception this year, the movement has strengthened, according to what the Andalusian agricultural sector acknowledges. Normally, large alhóndigas exports receive commitments that they must comply with. Not just drought climateProductions were very complex due to three weeks of severe cold in January. Supermarket shelves in England were seen to be empty. With the same drought but with much lower costs, going to the Moroccan market was more frequent than other voyages to reach the planned quotas.
Portuguese envy
Not only to Morocco, oil also headed to Tunisia to complete their productionFrom the EU to Portugal where olive groves dominate significantly. The decline in production and the absence of a campaign link (as usual, the surpluses recorded to connect one harvest to another) threaten. shooting prices are even higherthat manufacturers warned they were not reaching a ceiling.
Portugal, the other country in the Iberian Peninsula, is the only country to follow. build dams To the envy of Andalusian farmers, who pointed out that the last ones grown in Spain were made under the socialist Felipe González, who left the government 27 years ago (1996). Andalusian oil producers have also been looking at the Algarve and Portuguese Alentejo for some time; here the Alqueva dam, completed in 2002 and making it the largest reservoir in Western Europe, provides 110,000 hectares of newly irrigated land.
brutal effect
A report by Loyola University, coordinated by economics professor Manuel Alejandro Cardenite with researchers Luz Dary Beltrán and Paula Villegas, shows that there is a significant impact on the economy as a result of this natural phenomenon.-6.2% in terms of income and -7.4% in terms of GDP). This impact will be mitigated if the Junta de Andalucía’s SOS Plan (Solutions and Works against Drought) is well implemented, with 4,000 million hydraulic jobs approved in November 2022 and planned over five years to 2027.
As in the pandemic, the Government of Juan Manuel Moreno, forming a committee of experts, spent the entire legislature alerting the national Government. take urgent measures and carry out studies in the face of a lack of rain and the worst drought in decades. According to the latest official data, 29% of the waters of Andalusian marshes are under dam. This well-executed plan will reduce the impact of drought by 3.2% in terms of income and 3.9% in terms of GDP.
50% cut in agriculture
The Loyola University report confirms that Spain is officially in drought. Communities together the most serious cases are Galicia, Castilla y Leon, Extremadura, Andalusia, Catalonia and Navarra. due to scarcity of water resources (Ministry of Ecological Transition Hydrological Bulletin, 2022). Andalusia is facing one of the driest hydrological exercises of the last 25 years. According to information provided by the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation, the reservoirs were at 28% capacity in the fourth quarter of 2022, 11% below the national average. The situation did not improve.
HE The most affected economic sector is related to agriculture, animal husbandry and hunting., down an estimated 52.63 percent in terms of GDP. This sector shows the largest decrease as it is the most intensive sector in water use with significant production losses. They meet often food and tobacco industries, with a 15.48% reduction on a GDP basis due to the need for water in the production process. Also affected veterinary activities sector, decreased by 14.56% due to its relationship with agriculture, animal husbandry and hunting. Experts from Loyola University report a reduction of 13.73% and 6.54%, respectively, as the water collection, treatment and distribution sectors, as well as electrical power generation, transport and distribution are affected, but to a lesser extent.
The decline is less, thanks to the investment envisaged in the Board’s SOS Plan. The agricultural sector will soften its decline by about 20% by moving from an impact of 52% to an impact of less than 30%. The remaining four sectors will reduce the impact by around 50%.
In terms of jobs, simulating the impact of drought, 122,000 job losses approximately, though it will be reduced to 63,550 if the Andalusian Junta’s SOS Plan is well implemented.