Currently, 40% of people worldwide suffer from water scarcity and up to 700 million are at risk of being displaced as a result of droughts until 2030, according to FAO data. With regard to Spain, 27% of the country is currently in a situation of alert or water shortage, according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO), which adds that last March has been especially dry on the peninsula, with a growth of the so-called territorial units of drought (UTS), which have gone from 22 to 28.
"The situation is extremely worrying. If it is not reversed with strong measures that imply an agroecological transition strategy, there will be no turning back," explains the coordinator of the agroecology and food sovereignty area of Ecologistas en Acción, Elisa Oteros. "Right now I am in Seville and the thermometer marks 37ºC at the end of April. The reservoirs are very low and it is not something circumstantial, but a trend that cannot be reversed if there are no drastic and urgent changes. It is known that within the Mediterranean climate, there are meteorological cycles in which drought is recurrent, which can last between 4 and 5 years. We have already far exceeded that figure and in recent decades the level of the aquifers has not been recovered," he stresses.
For his part, the director of the NGO Justicia Alimentaria, Javier Guzmán, adds that this "extreme emergency" situation violates a fundamental right: that of food. "Without a doubt, food is one of the great issues of the next 40 years, a fundamental right that we have left in the hands of companies in the face of the passivity of governments. There is not a single public policy on food and the minimum What we should do as civil society is start to get angry," says Guzmán. If we do not do so, it is, in large part, because “there is a certain collusion of the public powers to not explain to us well what situation we find ourselves in. In addition, by not implementing drastic policies, it is easy for the citizen to end up thinking that if it is so serious and nothing is done, it will be that it is not so serious".
The lack of water, however, already affects large sectors of the population, from producers to transport or distribution and, of course, the pocket of consumers. "At the moment, the only thing that is being done is to put band-aids in the form of aid, subsidies and subsidies for a disease that is systemic and that requires a root change in the agri-food model," explains Oteros. For his part, Guzmán highlights other measures that ultimately mean bread for today and hunger for tomorrow."Illegal wells are being opened and hyper-technological solutions are being sought to improve efficiency in the use of water, when what must be done is to eradicate a failed agro-export model , based on a resource that we do not have nor did we have when it was implemented: water".
However, it is true that these measures have led to a decrease in water consumption in relative terms, "especially since the great drought of the early 1990s," says Oteros. The expert denounces that we are facing the so-called Jevons paradox, which states that as technological improvement increases the efficiency with which a resource is used, an increase in the consumption of this resource is more likely than a decrease. Specifically, the Jevons paradox implies that the introduction of technologies for greater efficiency in the use of water can lead, paradoxically, to an increase in total water consumption.
This contradiction also occurs in livestock, as stressed by the head of Agriculture and Livestock of Greenpeace Spain, Luís Ferreirim: "It is true that greenhouse gas emissions per head of cattle have been reduced in recent years, but they are also that the number of animals has multiplied due to the growing consumption of meat and derivatives".
Today, the situation affects a large part of crops, even those of dry land. According to Oteros, this is largely due to the progressive increase in evapotranspiration in plants. "The progressive increase in temperatures means that, to put it simply, the plants also sweat, since they are forced to lose water, which they then have to replace, to keep the temperature low. If we add to this that there is no stable rainfall pattern, but the current patterns are erratic, disaster is served: we went from drought to torrential rains and no crop is prepared for it," he says.
avocados and mangoes
No crop is spared, therefore, from the effects of drought, although there are some that suffer it especially. This is the case of avocados and mangoes. The former are mostly produced in Malaga and supply a large part of Europe, while mangoes are grown mainly in Granada and are supplied by the aquifers that store water from the Sierra Nevada. "It is nonsense that avocados are produced in an almost desert area like Malaga to be exported to Europe, while in turn in Malaga they are forced to import other foods," considers Oteros.
As is the fact that there are those who have an avocado for breakfast every day, although we can do it and have them within reach. "It is not a question of stopping eating avocados forever, but it does not make sense to consume a food that is not part of the territory and whose production implies a great climatic stress," continues the head of Ecologistas en Acción. In fact, the water needed by these tropical crops comes, in the case of Malaga, from the La Viñuela Reservoir, which is already at the limit. "Last year it already reached 9%, when water cannot be extracted below 10% because it is mud," explains Oteros, who recalls that currently many farmers in the area are removing avocados.
Broccoli and other vegetables
The drought is not only affecting tropical crops, but is also causing shortages in other foods that have traditionally been abundant. Oteros explains it: "In recent weeks we have been interviewed by foreign media because there is a shortage of broccoli, zucchini and cucumber in their markets." This situation is the result of a model that, as Guzmán assures, has its days numbered: "We have become an agro-export platform, connected to global markets and disconnected from the native ones. It does not make any sense that 30% of the fruit and vegetables consumed in Europe come from two Spanish provinces: Almería and Granada. Bearing in mind that every day 1,500 truckloads of vegetables leave Almería for Europe, how can the aquifers not be depleted?"
summer cereals
Another sector affected by the drought is that of summer cereals. "These intensive summer crops, such as corn, can no longer be planted in many territories, so many farmers have given up investing in planting taking into account the current restrictions," explains Guzmán. And the forecasts, which The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) points out that we could face an unusually hot summer with below-normal rainfall, which is a "breeding ground" for the spread of fires, which also affects to the fields.
For Guzmán, "the silent disappearance of these producers probably means that there will no longer be a generational replacement," also taking into account that the increase in the price of insurance is unaffordable for many of them.
Pork and other meats
For Oteros, it is essential to "reduce meat consumption, since we are reaching an intake of 1 kilo per person per week, when the WHO recommends between 200 and 300 grams. This means that intensive livestock farming is being promoted, which is very demanding of water, to the detriment of the extensive, which maintains the landscape and the local economy and contributes to generating employment". In this sense, the Platform for Extensive Livestock and Pastoralism has been working for a long time to create a seal that allows differentiating meats from extensive livestock.
Oteros points out that the reduction of meat consumption at a global level is primarily the responsibility of the administrations and that beyond focusing on individual consumption, it should also be done in the collective: "Hospitals, children's soup kitchens and other public entities should be the first to set an example and offer less meat and more fruit and vegetables, as well as vegetable protein. It's a matter of will." Guzmán agrees with her and recalls that in most neighboring countries "there is a state law on public procurement that establishes a series of restrictions to guarantee fair, healthy and environmentally friendly procurement by public administrations." Food Justice has been calling for a public purchasing law based on models such as that of France or Finland for some time, to no avail.
Olive oil and wine
Even some foods deeply rooted in Mediterranean culture are already suffering the consequences of the drought. This is the case of wine and olive oil. "It is very possible that there will be a shortage of olive oil in the market, because in the end what we are doing from communities like Andalucía, Murcia or Levante is nothing more than exporting our water, the little we have," says Oteros.
The same is true of wine, since "the vines are unable to cope with themselves", in the words of Balbina García, head of Viñas que atrapan, a project located in Costers de l'Anoia (Penedès, Barcelona), which is It is based on the production of wines with minimal intervention, from recovered vines and with regenerative agriculture. "If things continue like this, it is likely that we will have 70% less grapes this year. This represents the definitive collapse for many viticulturists”, explains García. At this time of the year, the vineyards should have double or even triple the leaf mass, which means that "they won't hold up, they won't start if it doesn't rain," concludes the viticulturist.
Some steps to follow
This radical change in the agroecological model that is being claimed from various fronts should translate into a series of changes, according to Ecologistas en Acción. “Crops that have been grown from irrigated to dry land must be transformed, as well as recovering horticultural, fruit, cereal, and livestock varieties that are better adapted to water scarcity, so that they are less demanding. On the other hand, it is necessary to work on the reduction or elimination of pesticides and reduce monocultures, which are more vulnerable to pests. A diversification of the landscape is also fundamental, promoting the natural elements that make the ecosystems more resilient”, lists Otero.
The expert also highlights the need to “reconnect agriculture and livestock, which were born together and need each other. Agriculture needs livestock to fertilize the soil and livestock is the perfect complement to take advantage of crop residues. It is necessary that they are well coupled, as they have always been”. Finally, it is essential "to move towards food sovereignty, so that what is produced serves to feed the people who live as close as possible."
