It was the year 2010 when a member of S.A.T. El Jable considered resuming the cultivation of sweet potatoes on a family farm located in the municipality of San Bartolomé. Thus, he began to clear it of gorse, camel grass, and other weeds to gradually, as they say in the sector, "manufacture" it. All under the enthusiasm of recovering a land that his grandparents planted with shovels and by hand, with the participation of the almost disappeared work gangs (groups of relatives and friends organized to carry out a specific agricultural task, with no other compensation than "today for you and tomorrow for me").
Through local farmers, he learns about the sweet potato market and its marketing channels. An acquaintance provides him with a phone number to call for information on possible aid. Our producer is very kindly answered by the head of the marketing department. Next, we will try to transcribe the conversation verbatim.
-Lanzarote Producer: Good morning, I wanted to inquire about compensation for sweet potato cultivation.
-Salesperson: Good morning. Let me explain, they are processed through a Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organization (OPFH). You must provide documentation on the ownership of the farm, location details, estimated planting and harvesting dates, as well as the approximate amount of kilos you expect to collect in order to process your request. I usually travel to Lanzarote once a month during the harvest season.
-Lanzarote Producer: Where are you coming from?
-Salesperson: I'm from Fuerteventura.
-Lanzarote Producer: From Fuerteventura?
-Salesperson: Yes
-Lanzarote Producer (somewhat incredulous asks again): But, excuse me, are you planting sweet potatoes?
-Salesperson: No, but since we have the recognition of O.P.F.H. (the only entity recognized to process this type of subsidy) and you don't have any operating in Lanzarote, we have decided to process them from here.
Our man, once the phone conversation ended, couldn't stop exclaiming to himself: "Lanzarote, which has been recognized as the main sweet potato producing island, for its varieties and quality; where in the not-so-distant past, millions of kilos were marketed and exported to England with notable success; it seems unbelievable that to receive aid for planting sweet potatoes we depend on another island"; and he ends his monologue: "it can't be, it can't be, this must change, we can't continue like this".
Later, he learns about the initiatives that existed to establish an OPFH in Lanzarote, although they did not come to fruition. Today, the files are still processed through entities based in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, since there are none on the island and the one in Fuerteventura stopped operating a few years ago. The establishment of an island-wide OPFH is one of the tasks that we farmers on this island have pending.
The SAT member, during a visit to FEAGA (Fuerteventura Agricultural and Livestock Fair), meets a majorero (resident of Fuerteventura) who is very fond of Lanzarote, as he came here to work, stayed, got married, and put down his roots. His integration into the reality of this island has been so great that we can consider him a conejero (resident of Lanzarote) born south of the Bocayna Strait. At the end of the day, after a long conversation, the majorero friend made the best diagnosis of the island's primary sector: "Lanzarote has everything to succeed by possessing unique soils (jable and sand) that produce extraordinarily high-quality foods that are highly appreciated throughout the Canary Islands, although the truth is that if it doesn't manage it well, it could die of success".
Recently, our protagonists meet again and resume the conversation (talks about agriculture never end).
Conejero: In my opinion, the island's agriculture was mostly lost due to the arrival of tourism, which considerably improved the socio-economic conditions of those who had previously worked in the fields. But, according to you, the great abandonment of agriculture was motivated by the lack of cooperatives and, in addition, because the attempts to start one suffered from, on the one hand, the interested interventions of politicians and, on the other hand, the lack of awareness of the farmer about its benefits.
Majorero: Cooperativism is necessary for the primary sector to have a future, look at what happened with bananas or tropical pineapple in El Hierro. These crops are maintained thanks to cooperatives, which have been able to optimize the performance of the partners' farms to ensure their profitability. The union has allowed farmers to schedule harvests, serve the market regularly, obtain a fair price for the sale of their products, as well as have their own voice; and most importantly, ensure that their demands are promptly addressed by the different public administrations.
Conejero: So, Lanzarote, under the figure of cooperatives, could have a chance to recover, even if only in part, its agriculture.
-Majorero: Yes, the current health-social-economic crisis offers us a new opportunity that we must know how to take advantage of.
-Conejero: What should be asked of the island's public administrations?
-Majorero: If you asked any of the last and few farmers we have left, the first thing they would ask for is to have the sensitivity to appreciate and value the work of the countryside. They would also request a sufficient supply of quality desalinated water to irrigate their crops, as well as a firm commitment to the primary sector, which is essential to increase our percentage of food self-sufficiency. A primary sector that has been suffering for some time, always in silence, a total lack of attention from public administrations, which, together with the harshness of the agriculture practiced in these soils, makes the farmers "hurt so much for Lanzarote".
In addition, I would add that a commitment should be made to favor - without interference, of course - the establishment and operation of farmers' cooperatives, just as the public administrations of other islands have been promoting among their farmers (the number of cooperatives existing in the other islands and how many operate in Lanzarote is evident).
In short, our public officials cannot be asked for more, but neither can they demand less.
-Conejero: And how should farmers face this opportunity that is presented to them?
-Majorero: From the cooperation and joint marketing of crops (leaving aside the distrust and individualism that has always prevailed on this island). What's more, in these moments of adversity, we must be closer than ever, because there is no other way if we want to ensure that agriculture has a hopeful future. Also, for this collective project, you can count on me because I, who am both from there and from here, also hurt for Lanzarote.
Signed S.A.T. EL JABLE
