Farmers in the Autonomous Community of Valencia in eastern Spain are counting the estimated €1 billion cost of damage caused by severe flooding in the region in recent weeks.
The Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA) has provided an estimate of the cost of the damage, which has not only impacted food production directly, but also caused severe damage to rural roads and other agricultural infrastructure in the area.
The farmer association said today (Friday, November 15) that the accumulated rains of up to 180L/m2 in the province of Castellon – part of the Valencian community – flooded agricultural and livestock farms.
Some horticulture farmers in the Castellon area have seen their products “lose all commercial value in the market” due to the impact of floods combined with high humidity.
The weather has also caused delays in the planting of some vegetables, which could put further downward pressure on prices, the farm organisation warned.
For citrus fruit farmers, potential losses of 20% of their crop are possible.
The farm group said that, in total, the losses in Castellon’s harvest will amount to €11 million over an area of 7,000ha.
The damage to roads and infrastructure in that area, meanwhile, is estimated at €4 million.
The ASA-ASAJA is calling on the local Valencian government, the national Spanish government, and the EU, to extend aid for farmers impacted by the flooding around Spain to those in Castellon, who so far have not been included in the funding.
The group is calling on the authorities to quickly repair the damage to the roads in order to provide access to farms.
The farm organisation also wants to see fungicide treatments to be subsidised to treat outbreaks of plant disease resulting from the current weather conditions; as well as a higher rate of insurance protection.
The group’s president, Cristobal Aguado, met with the incoming European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen yesterday (Thursday, November 14).
The group called on the commissioner-designate to come forward with a package of “extraordinary measures for the reconstruction of the agricultural sector in Valencia and other areas of Spain”.
The group is looking for aid through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) agricultural reserve fund.
The farm organisation also wants to see the removal of some environmental and stocking rate requirements that cannot be met, either directly due the weather, or because livestock have died in the flooding.