agriculture

The Catalan Executive announced it will take the Spanish Government’s Hydrologic Plan for the Ebro River (Plan Hidrológico del Ebro) to the European Commission, as it will damage the river’s delta, which is a unique environment and one of UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserves. The European Commission replied that it will need “weeks or even months” to analyse the plan, which only guarantees that around 30% of the river’s volume of flow will reach the delta. According to scientific studies, such a volume of water is absolutely insufficient to preserve the Delta, which is a reserve for wildlife as well as a tourist and agricultural centre. The project foresees allocating almost 11,000 cubic hectometres of water per year upstream to irrigate 1.41 million hectares of fields, a third of them newly-created. Brussels is still waiting for Madrid’s documentation but the Commission warned that it will look at the plan “from all the possible angles”.

The Catalan economy has continued on a positive trend during the fourth quarter of 2013, also speeding up the recovery process. According to data released on Friday by the Catalan Ministry of Economy and Knowledge alongside the Catalan Institute of Statistics (Idescat), Catalonia’s GDP grew by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013, while the Spanish average stood at 0.3%. In the whole year, the Catalan GDP has decreased by 0.6 %, while in 2012 it dropped by 1.3%. The continued good results in exports due to the increasing external demand and the improvement of the domestic demand have driven the economy forward.

The President of the Regulatory Council of Priorat wine appellation, located in south-western Catalonia, is anticipating an excellent grape harvest this summer as there have been no major setbacks that have affected the evolution of the vineyards. The hot and dry weather during August has led to a process of maturation that is very favourable in terms of colour and there is a good balance between alcohol and acidity. The President of the Regulatory Council of the word-famous wine region, Toni Alcover, expects there to be a high quality harvest with a quantity in excess of 5.5 million kilograms of grapes.

Terres de l’Ebre, which encompasses the delta and the catchment area of the Ebro River’s lowest stretch, displays a unique relationship between nature and traditional human activities. It has lovely landscapes, with hills, cliffs, fields and picturesque villages on both sides of the river, as well as coastal ecosystems, where the delta offers amazing and delicate environments. The new Man and the Biosphere reserve covers 367,729 hectares and has 190,000 inhabitants. The cultivation of rice, citrus fruits and olives, livestock breeding as well as aquaculture and fishing are the main human activities, “respecting biological conservation and landscape values”, stated UNESCO. The Montseny hills and forest are the other Catalan biosphere reserve.

Among the many culinary traditions Catalonia can boast about, the ‘Calçotada’ is one of the most beloved among Catalans. People from all over the territory and in particular those from southern towns such as Valls, eat ‘calçots’ (similar to green onions) with family and friends in special get togethers for the next three months. On January 29th the season kicked off with a festival that brought together 30,000 people.

Catalan GDP grew by 0.7% during the second quarter of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. However, in the first quarter it grew by 1.1%. The export sector continues being the Catalan economy’s engine, while internal demand fell. Catalan GDP grew by 0.2% from the first to the second quarter this year, the same rate than for the rest of the European Union. At the end of 2010, Catalan GDP represented 209.7 billion euros, more than Finland’s, Portugal’s or Venezuela’s.

The project ‘Cultures Trobades’ has already avoided the extinction of 300 varieties of seeds, 50 ancient vineyards and the last living specimens of the Catalan goats. The initiative aims to preserve traditional Catalan agriculture, "the country's cultural heritage."

Each year, thousands of seasonal workers come to Lleida's fields to work picking fruit; most of them are Muslim and thus have to work during Ramadan. They claim that, despite the Ramadan being tough, this year it has been made a little easier thanks to the weather, there is "less heat than last summer" they say.

The Catalan Minister for Agriculture believes that the EU offer of compensation to farmers does not include enough products to meet the general losses in the sector provoked by the cucumber crisis.

Despite the scientific analysis that proves the innocence of Spanish field products, the demand for vegetables and fruit, not only cucumbers, has harshly hit agriculture throughout Spain. Catalan farmers are also heavily affected, as well as fresh food shopkeepers. Farmers have to drop prices or even destroy the product as demand has plummeted, especially regarding exports. Thousands of tones of oranges are in stock in the Delta de l’Ebre and may rot if demand does not recover soon.

Valentí Mongay, President of Garraf’s ‘Slow-food’ and coordinator of the 'Km 0' initiative, has said that by reducing the number of intermediaries, there would be more affordable quality products available, that would be respect seasonal products. He also explain the ‘Flavour Ark’ initiative to preserve local species.

Torres is one of Catalonia's most globally recognised wine houses, with vineyards and wineries in places such as Chile and California. Company President Miguel A. Torres believes that innovation in every step of the process of wine production is necessary. He also stressed the importance of exports to get over the crisis.

The Catalan Minister for Agriculture Josep Maria Pelegrí visited Berlin this week to greet the 23 Catalan companies that were exhibiting at the Fruit Logistica fair in Berlin. Catalonia has a significant fruit production industry and it exports fruit all over Europe.

The sector records a global loss of 312 million euros over the last four years. The main reason is the increase of the cereal price and thus the increase of feeding costs. Catalonia has a traditional strong pork meat sector, one of the pillars of its agri-food industry.

According to the President of the Associació Territori del Sénia, the olive oil has a smooth and balanced flavour. 12,000 bottles of olive oil were produced this harvest. They will be sold in speciality stores.