The lack of water has already left its mark on Malaga's countryside. The Provincial Association of Irrigators of Malaga (Aprema) has stated that this year's tomato crops have fallen because, after the drought decree was approved, many producers in the Guadalhorce Valley decided not to buy tomato plants.
Subtropical crops, which are emblematic of the province, are also being affected by this problem in the Axarquia; especially when considering that the Viñuela is at 10.07% of its capacity and that the first restrictions have banned the use of the reservoir's water for agricultural use unless the situation changes in the coming weeks, stated Fernando Fernadez Tapia, the territorial delegate of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development.
Regarding the avocado crops, Jose Campos, president of the Central Board of Users of the South of Guaro and the Cerro de la Encina irrigation community (in Velez-Malaga), said producers have been uprooting and will continue to uproot the crops because, if it doesn't rain soon and they aren't watered, the crops will wilt. The lack of water and drought has also affected the mango harvest.
"Prices have fallen so much that, in many cases, producers have had to leave the mangoes lying in the field," stated Antonio Rodriguez, the provincial secretary of the agricultural organization COAG in Malaga. The chains decided to pay lower prices because the sizes achieved this season were smaller than in other seasons without taking the product's quality into account, he added. The COAG lamented that Spanish mango producers had to leave their mango in the fields while the country imported mangoes from Brazil and other countries.
Gregorio Campos, vice president of Axaragua, said that the subtropical crops were not the only crops being affected. "The irrigators of Torrox and Algarrobo have problems with cover crops," he said. Many irrigators have been unable to plant their winter crops because they lack water resources and do not know what to expect from this hydrological year.
Source: malagahoy.es