Forum organized by the Alicante State Business Union to address rural development and population decline, held in Algueña in the central Vinalopó region. The event brought together specialists in rural depopulation and regional development to discuss Citizens’ Rights and guarantees for equal access to public services across rural and urban areas.
Attendees included Francisco Manuel Carrasco Valcárcel, First Vice-President of the Algueña City Council; David Torres, Director General of Rural Development at the Ministry of Agriculture; Celestino Falcó Cantó, President of the Bodegas Cooperativa de Algueña; Antonio Martínez Puche, Master’s Professor of Local Development and Regional Innovation at the University of Alicante; David Bernardo López, Master’s Professor of Agricultural Ecology, Rural Development and Agricultural Tourism at UMH Elche; María Minano, President of the Alicante Wine Route; and Juan José Bolufer, Head of the Public Sector Area of the Alicante Economic Observatory.
Juan José Sellés, president of UEPAL, highlighted that financial incentives to encourage settlement in rural areas are helpful but not sufficient. The return of people to rural municipalities will depend on secure access to education, health, and cultural services just as in urban areas.
Antonio Martínez Puche, professor of Human Geography at the UA, and David López, a postgraduate professor of Agroecology, rural development and Agro-tourism at UMH, agreed on the essential role of public services. They noted that tax incentives can assist, yet real settlement hinges on guaranteeing basic resources like toilets and other vital services at comparable distances to those in larger cities for towns such as Algueña and Lliber.
The speakers also emphasized the need to improve phone and internet connectivity to attract businesses and professionals. Sellés pointed out that there has been a migration from major cities to inland areas, but poor communication networks often pushed residents back to urban centers.
Experts called for the creation of a carbon footprint compensation system that would generate income tied to environmental contributions from forests and agricultural resources. They also urged the development of an effective landscape protection program to safeguard fertile agricultural soils in anticipation of future photovoltaic facilities.
The challenges of the agricultural sector
Leaders in agriculture, particularly wine, noted a recovery after the pandemic with renewed sales and a revival of ethnographic and rural tourism. Yet the goal is to ensure this improvement is lasting rather than temporary in response to the crisis. The Director-General for Rural Development underscored this need and added that the pandemic helped many people recognize the value and high quality of life found in rural towns.
During the current crisis, there are challenges in securing qualified staff for both the restaurant and agricultural sectors. The cooperative and the Wine Route called for efforts to train and honor agricultural workers, establish price-control frameworks to keep farms profitable, and develop new support models for marketing and promotion.