The Cabildo of Lanzarote, through the Department of Agriculture, led by President Oswaldo Betancort, has held a participatory meeting with more than twenty farmers, winegrowers, and professionals from the sector to explain the conditions of the call for 800,000 euros in aid for the conservation of the traditional cultivation of La Geria.
The meeting, held in the Assembly Hall of the Island Corporation, served as a meeting point to resolve the most frequent doubts about this non-competitive concurrence procedure. During the meeting, the payment of the amount was clarified based on the traditional system of cultivation in holes and their depth.
The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and head of the Area, Oswaldo Betancort, expressed his gratitude to the Minister of Agriculture of the Government of the Canary Islands, Narvay Quintero, for the financing of an action that he described as "key for the island's primary sector." He also thanked the Experimental Agricultural Farm for leading this initiative and the Lanzarote Wine Regulatory Council for its collaboration.
"For the first time in the history of Lanzarote, a financial allocation of 800,000 euros will be made, linked to the promotion and protection of the treatment of the 'hoyo' in La Geria. This has been achieved thanks to the effort of everyone, for the benefit of the citizens," he stressed.
Aid Will Depend on the Size of the Hole
The technician from the Engineering and Consulting Firm GEOCOBET, Francisco Corredera, explained that this action has been carried out by measuring the diameter of the sinkhole, the height or thickness of the weathered rock, and the natural or repose angle of the slope, using the cutting-edge digital tool GeriaScan, with current data collected from July to September of this year.
Thanks to this instrument, 8,249 SIGPAC 2024 enclosures with vineyards in La Geria have been analyzed. Based on the depth, the following have been recorded: type 1, with a depth of 1.5 meters or greater, 9,341 holes; type two, between one and one and a half meters, 31,775 have been found; and type 3, 113,223 holes have been located.
Tania Acuña, a technician at the Experimental Agricultural Farm, emphasized the importance of improving the profitability of the most unique agro-systems and conserving the island's wine-growing landscape, characterized by unique cultivation systems. She also stated that the deadline for submitting applications is October 31, with the possibility of an extension until November 5.
The methodology used to calculate the aid was based on the depth of all the vineyard plots analyzed, and it was established in the call for applications that type 1 holes receive a subsidy of twenty euros per hole; type 2, eight euros/hole, and type 3, decreases to four euros/hole.
Interested parties may submit applications through the electronic headquarters of the Cabildo de Lanzarote or in person at the Agricultural Farm, in the morning, without prior appointment. To do so, they must present their ID and the file from the Regulatory Council of Wines or the SIGPAC plans.