The head of the nuts section from the Federation of Catalan Agricultural Cooperatives (FCAC), Roger Palau, reported that, "the Administration is endangering the continuity of the more than 50,000 productive hectares devoted to nuts and carob trees in Catalonia." Palau warned that, "without the sector's incentives, 10,000 hectares are likely to be abandoned in the short term, which represents 20% of the crops." As a reference, between 2010 and 2012, about 2,000 productive hectares of almonds were lost in Catalonia.
The aid to nuts and carobs demanded by FCAC is aimed at ensuring the sustainability of a sector which is essential for environmental and land preservation issues, as many hectares devoted to nuts are in areas where no agricultural alternatives exist.
However, Roger Palau was critical towards the Ministry of Agriculture, as he announced that the budget for the 2013 season would be of 7.2 million Euro, almost 60% less than in 2009, when it reached 17 million."
Meanwhile, Palau explained that, "the situation will become even worse because the Council of Agriculture still owes about 55% of 2012's aid. For 2013, the aid scheme is not included in the budget."
In Catalonia, the production of nuts is materialised in almonds, hazelnuts, carobs, walnuts and pistachio nuts, mainly concentrating in the province of Tarragona (37,000 hectares and Lleida (around 17,000 hectares).
Abandoning the crops would be very damaging for the country, as Roger Palau points out, "because it could lead to the emergence of uncared for woodlands, with the consequent risk of fires."
"At consumer level, we would also lose the wealth of autochthonous varieties provided by this product, as well as the capability for self-sustenance," he added.
In Catalonia, the production of nuts is materialised in almonds, hazelnuts, carobs, walnuts and pistachio nuts, mainly concentrating in the province of Tarragona (37,000 hectares and Lleida (around 17,000 hectares).
Abandoning the crops would be very damaging for the country, as Roger Palau points out, "because it could lead to the emergence of uncared for woodlands, with the consequent risk of fires."
"At consumer level, we would also lose the wealth of autochthonous varieties provided by this product, as well as the capability for self-sustenance," he added.
Source: agroinformacion.com