Catalan agriculture has warned that the severe drought and the reduction in harvests that are already there "could have an impact on food prices" at a time when consumer basket inflation continues to soar. Winter cereals for animal feed, oil, rice, fruit in the Canal d'Urgell area or nuts are some of the products that, today, are more involved in one way or another because of the water shortage, explains Ramon Sarroca, president of the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Catalonia (FCAC).
The sector presented the situation to the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda at the agricultural table that was held on Monday afternoon and in which it was agreed to create a monitoring commission that will meet every fortnight to evaluate the effect of the drought and take measures. "We have asked that the PAC can be modified to adapt it to the effects of the water shortage", comments Sarroca. The FCAC estimates that 80% of winter dry cereals "are already lost".
As for olive trees, the 2022-2023 harvest "was the worst in the last fifteen years, with a production of 15,000 tons of olive oil when it had never been below 20,000 tons and, if if the rainfall does not change, the next harvest would also be affected", they say. The livestock and dairy sector are also concerned about the availability of drinking water for farm animals and the shortage of fodder. Oil or milk are some of the foods that have become more expensive in recent months, with a rise in the CPI of 32.1% in March in the case of the former and 30.8% in the second
For its part, Unió de Pagesos also demanded the flexibility of certain regulations of the PAC and the activation of extraordinary measures provided for in European regulations, which will be presented to the Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday, comments Joan Caball, national coordinator of the union . For Caball, it is urgent to improve the management of water reuse and the modernization of irrigation to achieve a more efficient use of water resources in a climate context in which droughts will be increasingly frequent. The union also requested that water and food be guaranteed for extensive livestock farming, as well as the "flexibility of the requirements of the regulations regarding investments and the incorporation of young people".
"The entire cultivation area of the Canal d'Urgell is of particular concern to us", underlines Sarroca. The Department of Climate Action and the community of canal irrigators agreed yesterday to request the Ministry of Agriculture to modernize this infrastructure, whose main canal will be closed from today due to the drought and which affects about 50,000 hectares of irrigation.
The Government estimates that this modernization requires an investment of 1.2 billion euros, an amount which, it insists, cannot be assumed by the irrigators alone. Councilor Teresa Jordà proposed a few days ago to the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, that the Generalitat assume 60% of the cost of the modernization of the Urgell Canal, so that the State should finance the 40% remaining. This measure could mitigate the impact of droughts and improve the efficiency of water use, they believe.
