Agriculture bodies in Spain are calling for tax breaks and financial assistance as losses from this week’s deadly floods are likely to run into the millions.
As clear-up operations continue in the wake of storm Dana, which hit the Valencia region on Wednesday (30 October), the Valencian Association of Farmers warned the impact on food crops could be devastating, potentially wiping out this year’s whole harvest.
The Avaasaja Asociació Valenciana d'Agricultors (AVA-ASAJA) said it “fears that if the rainfall continues over the next few days, problems could occur in early varieties of citrus, persimmons and vegetables awaiting harvest due to excess moisture”.
It suggested the cost to the agriculture sector in Spain could amount to “million dollar losses” due to crop damage, adding that trees and soil have been washed away by the floods.
Essential infrastructure has also been broken, such as irrigation ditches and roads, while greenhouses, agricultural machinery and livestock buildings have been wrecked.
AVA-ASAJA said it is calling on the Spanish government to “demonstrate their sensitivity towards the agricultural sector by implementing direct aid or fiscal measures to alleviate the losses suffered”.
The Spanish Kaki Association representing cultivators of the persimmon fruit, said the crop had been hit as the storm and floods caused “significant losses in the agricultural sector”.
“This damage, in addition to affecting this season’s production, compromises crop yields in the coming years, as many trees have suffered structural damage that will require time and costly recovery efforts,” Fruitnet.com cited the Association as saying.
Like the AVA-ASAJA, the group also called for government assistance.
“We request direct aid, tax breaks and a specific recovery plan for kaki producers, a crop that has become an economic and cultural pillar of the Valencian region,” it said.
“We also ask for a firm commitment from the authorities to improve drainage and protection infrastructure in agricultural areas in order to mitigate the impact of extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent due to climate change.”
Latest estimates put the death count from storm Dana at 205, numbers which are likely to rise with many people still missing and unaccounted for.
AVA-ASAJA said that as the storm hit rainfall reached “140 litres per square metre for a few hours in areas of La Ribera Alta, Hoya de Buñol and Utiel-Requena” as the water flooded many plots of land.
The floods were made worse by parched land, making it difficult to absorb the excess water, “which is why damage is expected to be caused to entire crops of persimmons, citrus fruits and vegetables”, it said.
According to the Kaki Association, initial estimates put the loss to the persimmon harvest at 70% as the storm caused fruit to prematurely fall from trees and caused “considerable damage to plantations”.
