The HE Council Alicante stepped in to assist cherry producers facing devastation in two main production zones: Mount Alicante and Villena.
About 400 cherry growers in the El Comtat and l’Alcoià regions will receive aid this June totaling 250 thousand euros from the Ministry of Agriculture, with an additional 200 thousand euros distributed between two regional cooperatives. The Autonomous Agriculture Minister, Roger Llanes, visited Villena last Friday to confirm the damage caused by DANA and pledged financial support from the Generalitat Valenciana to Villena’s cherry farmers, though exact figures were not disclosed at that time.
Consell to support Villena cherry growers after losing 90% of harvest
DANA is affecting the Valencian Community, delivering heavy pressure on forests and crops in Alicante after a very hot and dry winter and spring. For the cherry crop, a cold snap turned hopeful production into a disaster after five years of strong yields. This year there is little to no production due to the drought ongoing for the last five months, impacting cherries in La Montaña de Alicante.
In Villena, the Alto Vinalopó region faced persistent rains in May that cracked the cherries on the trees, preventing harvest and complicating access to farms due to flooding. The result is a near total harvest loss in this sub-region that once showed great promise.
abandonment and plague
The region has endured weather problems, rising production costs, and insufficient yield insurance coverage. Agricultural abandonment has increased, with many small properties requiring harvest reductions of up to 50% despite identical insurance costs. Reports mention the emergence of new challenges in the Valley d’Ebo, as cited by the Protected Geographical Indication Regulatory Board. The leadership of Asaja Alicante conveyed to the agricultural organization that the situation is worsening the already fragile state of Alicante’s cherry sector, said Jose Vicente Andreu.
Farmers registered regret over the ongoing crisis, noting it compounds an unsustainable situation for the Alicante cherry industry and threatens livelihoods across the region.
Some very beneficial rains ruin cherries and late arrivals for cereal in Alicante
In Villena, 90% of the cherry harvest was lost due to continuous and heavy rains from DANA and a prior week’s storm. Millions of kilos of various varieties cannot be harvested, creating a dramatic scenario for farmers in the Alto Vinalopó campaign, which had extraordinary potential this year given the size, quality, and quantity of fruit on about 500 hectares of land.
Producers recall a campaign of unprecedented adversity, noting that this year’s conditions were among the worst in three decades. The primary enemy remains the rain, and a sharp autumn chill before summer cracked the fruit’s flesh, dashing farmers’ expectations in Villena. Although many growers hold policies, coverage will not fully offset losses after five tough campaigns spanning 2019 to 2023, with earlier frosts and rains compounding the damage.
Farmers face a difficult reality as record rains continue to undermine the industry, and insurance limitations fail to shield them from the full economic impact of repeated disasters.
DANA left 175 liters/m² of rain, floods and roadblocks in Alicante
Asaja Alicante is calling for a direct, temporary hotline to support cherry growers, aiming to sustain production and secure immediate economic recovery. They advocate for urgent insurance adaptations to reflect the region’s realities and to stabilize the rural population in affected areas, which has faced repeated disasters in recent years. The organization also intends to press for emergency planning measures once the new regional government is formed, urging administration action to mobilize and promote this emblematic crop for the province.
(Attribution: Asaja Alicante) This recognition of the sector’s vulnerability underscores the need for targeted resilience measures in the face of climate-driven volatility.