Every February, the municipality of Mula, in the center of the Region of Murcia, is dyed white and pink: its almost 21,000 hectares of almond trees are covered with flowers in what is the first flowering of the year in all of Europe, a magical show that attracts hundreds of tourists and is a shock to life and the local economy.
In a municipality in which almost two thirds of its economy is based on the agricultural sector, the almond tree plays a leading role and accounts for around 30 percent of the production of its land, which also abounds in citrus, fruit trees of bone and, more residually, the olive tree and the vine.
In fact, Mula (17,000 inhabitants) is the Spanish town with the largest area of land dedicated to the cultivation of almond trees in their different varieties, almost entirely in dryland plantations. These offer the eye an image that borders on the unreal, that of trees loaded with flowers making their way through an arid, dry, desert land.
It is a landscape of great contrasts where the white and pink of the flowers collides with the rough and hard tones of the earth, but also with the greens of the orchard, as the Muleños call the fruit plantations. Added to this scenario are the brilliance of Sierra Espuña, the main mountain massif of the autonomous community, and the multicolored palette of the traditional and palatial houses that make up the historic center of the city.
The productive value of the almond tree is unquestionable, but in recent years the city council has wanted to also give it a tourist and cultural value, turning it into a hallmark: “The best product we have must be valued, committed to showing all the potential that has”, summarizes the mayor, Juan Jesús Moreno.
A couple of years ago, together with his team, he began working to give a focus beyond agriculture to the almond tree, but it was in 2024 when they have dedicated themselves to a great regional promotional campaign, MulaFlor, which includes guided routes, activities for children, cultural events, workshops and initiatives rooted in folkloric tradition, such as group meetings, details the head of the tourism office, Ana López.
With the program of activities in its final stretch (it began on February 3 and will conclude on March 3), its success is unquestionable: so far this year about 10,000 visitors have passed through Mula, the same as in all of 2023 and 10 times more than those who enjoyed the flowering last year, the Councilor for Tourism, Alejandra Martínez, explains to EFE.
In his opinion, “the influence of the new perspective and enhancement of tourism through MulaFlor has been incredible” and begins a consolidation of Mula as a “great tourist destination” in the interior thanks not only to the flowering, but also to its “heritage, culture, gastronomy and nature.”
For the mayor, this popularity gained with flowering will have direct consequences on all other facets of Mula's life: “An inland municipality in a coastal community has to make a living to make itself known. If we manage to attract tourism, it generates a boost for the hospitality industry, for rural houses. Hand in hand it also improves commerce and, why not, it can encourage other companies to settle in the area and open new businesses.”
It is about diversifying the economy in the face of climate change and increasingly severe droughts that make the dryland productive model difficult, as Cristóbal Fernández, a farmer who has 120 hectares of almond trees in the municipality, in addition to farms, explains to EFE. apricot and peach.
“Under normal conditions, one hectare of dryland almond trees produces about 800 kilos of almonds, including the shell. Each one will give about 250 or 300 grams of already peeled almonds. But we are not in normal conditions. Since May (2023) it has not rained a day. The almond does not grow, it gives very little yield, and the trees dry out,” he explains.
These are conditions in which it is difficult to compete with other producers: the main one in the world is California, in the United States, where the almond tree is grown with irrigation and production is 2,000 kilos per hectare. “From the seed, without the shell,” Fernández points out.
That country produces around 80 percent of the almonds consumed worldwide and Spain 10 percent, with the rest distributed between Australia, Italy, Turkey and Tunisia, among other nations.
For this reason, Fernández welcomes the commitment to make the almond tree known from a tourist point of view, since although it does not leave a direct economic return, being a known phenomenon will benefit in the long term the maintenance of the crops and the wealth in general of the area.
An idea shared by the mayor, who insists that “many times we go to visit other cities, other countries, and we do not know our own heritage.” "Starting from flowering, we also want to do pedagogy so that everyone can learn about the potential of uniting agriculture, tourism, heritage, nature and gastronomy."
