The president of the Palmera Association of Farmers and Ranchers (ASPA), Miguel Martín, described this Monday the "impotence" of the workers of the primary sector of La Palma before the advance of the lava through the west of the island after the eruption in 'Cumbre Vieja'.
In statements to Europa Press he commented that for now "the assessments "are difficult to make" because the eruption has not finished but it is already known that there are damaged vine and avocado crops, especially in El Paso and it is expected that the lava will affect the banana plantations since the areas of Puerto Naos and El Remo, on the coast of Los Llanos de Aridane, are being evicted.
Martín also warns that beyond the crop that is lost "there may be very important damages" for the future if the lava destroys the irrigation network and the access roads to the farms and it will not be possible to get the fruit out of the land.
The line that the lava follows is directed to banana areas "and if it reaches the sea, the crop will disappear, but also the roads", says Martín, who warns that if the hydraulic infrastructures are affected, it will not be possible to irrigate "because the water comes from the western part to the south and everything that remains of lava to the south will not have irrigation, so it will affect a large part of the banana crops."
In addition, he comments that many of the affected homes on the island belong to farmers who, apart from potentially losing their livelihood, have lost their homes. "It's a lot of damage," he says.
Martín indicates, however, that "we still have to wait" for the eruption to end and stresses that for the last hot air storm there was agricultural insurance that in principle will not cover the farms that are affected by the lava.
In addition, he has shown his concern because "if the lava lasts for a long time" you cannot plant or harvest fruit and there will be a "paralysis" of the crops.
