COAG Almeria warns that whole plantations are being pulled up as a result of virus diseases caused by spotted or leaf curl virus, among others. According to the technical services of the Agrarian Organization, there is a high incidence of fly and thrips pests that could be causing such issues.
"We advise farmers to stop by their nearest COAG Almeria office in order to report their damages, since this document is essential to be able to apply for tax cuts in the future," assured Andrés Góngora, Provincial Secretary of COAG Almeria, who calls on the Delegation of Agriculture in the province to "evaluate the damage that crops are suffering in different parts of the province."
In any case, the Agrarian Organization is reminding producers of the need to take precautions in the event of viral diseases to prevent them from spreading to neighbouring greenhouses.
Tax cuts
The Agrarian Organization regrets that horticultural crops are already being affected by diseases since the beginning of the campaign; a situation that they hope will be taken into account by the Ministries of Agriculture and Finance when publishing the tax reduction modules for the fiscal year 2017. "We started a new campaign with obstacles that are beyond the power of the producers and we hope that these circumstances and those that may arrive in the future will be taken into account by the Administrations at the time of publishing the tax cuts for Almeria's agricultural sector," comments Góngora.
Agricultural insurance
For his part, Antonio Moreno, Head of Agricultural Insurances at COAG Andalusia, insists that problems such as virus diseases are covered by agricultural insurances, hence the importance of having one. "The deadline for crops that are already planted to be covered in the event of virus diseases ended on 15 September 2017. Those people will be able to recover the losses caused by the virus, depending on the type of policy contracted. Also, it is worth noting that for spring crop transplants, the contracting period will again open from 1 January to 31 January 2018. We know that it is an extra task for the grower to sign this contract, but it is the only way we have to insure our income in situations like the spread of virus diseases," concludes Moreno.