The decline of the primary sector (abandonment of the countryside, forced mooring of boats due to not being able to continue fishing in the Canarian-Saharan bank and closure of canning factories) was partly caused by the arrival of tourism, which significantly improved the socio-economic conditions of those who until then were dedicated to agriculture, were embarked or worked in canning factories, and this must be acknowledged. However, this situation brought with it a substantial loss of our degree of self-sufficiency.
The health, economic and social crisis that we are suffering shows: on the one hand, the excessive dependence on tourism; and, on the other hand, the diversification that must be urgently addressed in the economy of this island. In this sense, the work carried out by farmers, ranchers and fishermen, which has been considered essential since the first declaration of the State of Alarm decreed by the Government of the Nation, takes on a special role. Moreover, this sector is destined to be one of those that can contribute to the economic recovery of the country.
In Lanzarote, on the contrary, it is noted how every year less onions are harvested, less potatoes, grains and cereals are planted, as well as watermelons, pumpkins, peas or millet. You only have to take a walk around the countryside to see abandoned farms in every corner with their obvious negative impact on the landscape.
In addition, the few farmers that remain receive for the sales of their crops, on many occasions, prices that do not cover the costs of production. This will eventually force them to abandon their farmlands.
We must be aware that the development of the primary sector is not achieved only with savoring festivals or tapas fairs. Other initiatives are needed and we refer to the facts, because despite the countless events held, the truth is that every year there are fewer farmers. So something will have to change if we want to promote agriculture to aspire to higher levels of sovereignty and food security.
In this dynamic, the logical question would be: what are the actions to be implemented to guarantee the permanence of agricultural activity and, in turn, enable the desired generational changeover? In the search for these objectives, there are some measures that have to be implemented by the Cabildo; and others by the farmers themselves.
The Cabildo has to adopt policies aimed at:
-Facilitate sufficient and quality water for agricultural irrigation, because although it has rained a little in recent days and has encouraged planting, it cannot be denied that we are witnessing a prolonged period of drought as a result of climate change.
-Develop an Island Agricultural Plan that responds to the challenges of an agriculture that, following the requirements of the new Common Agricultural Policy, tends to be more ecological and sustainable.
-Promote the creation and operation of farmers' cooperatives, as has been done in other places with remarkable success. The public officials of this island must support these associative figures as they put the person at the center of economic activity, and are also an appropriate instrument to structure the sector.
-The Cabildo should give priority attention to agricultural producers so that their demands are promptly met, and not as until today, where their requests have been suffering a certain delay motivated mainly by the fact that the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries also includes the areas of economic promotion and tourism, which has resulted in an unsustainable workload for the department. Perhaps it would be convenient to create a department dedicated exclusively to the primary sector. This request is extremely understandable in the current circumstances, especially when from now on the department through the tourism department will have to dedicate more time - to the detriment of farmers, ranchers and fishermen - to the promotion campaigns aimed at recovering the issuing markets of tourism.
And, from the scope of farmers: what is their main challenge? To achieve unity both in the joint marketing of crops in order to obtain a reasonable price, and when formulating claims to the different administrations. But, if you continue to think that farmers here cannot be grouped together, then agriculture will have no future. We do not say it, but people who, due to their experience, achievements and successes in their respective subsectors, know very well how the agri-food chain works.
We have had the opportunity to visit the largest cooperatives in the Canary Islands dedicated to the cultivation of tomatoes, tropical pineapple and bananas.
-COAGRISAN: based in Gran Canaria, in the Village of San Nicolás de Tolentino, which markets about 20 million kilos of tomatoes per year.
-SAT FRUTAS DEL HIERRO: operates on the Island of El Hierro and harvests about 2 million kilos of tropical pineapple.
-COPLACA: groups 17 cooperatives or SAT with farmers spread across several islands and puts on the market more than 130 million kilos of bananas per year.
We have spoken with their managers and technicians, to whom we have asked the same question: what is the future of agriculture?, and all have answered unanimously: "Through unity. There is no other way"; to add then: "belonging to a cooperative (idea that farmers of Lanzarote must internalize) allows to plan the harvests, centralize the purchases of inputs to acquire them at better prices, identify the needs of the markets to be able to supply them in optimal conditions, and as a last objective to possess a minimum capacity of influence when negotiating the conditions of sale with the large distribution companies".
Therefore, for farmers to receive a fair remuneration for the sale of their crops they have to be integrated into a cooperative, a word proscribed in Lanzarote for the unfortunate experiences lived in the past, but that we must rescue and make it ours once and for all, if we want agriculture does not end up disappearing on this island.
Signed by the Island Council of Lanzarote of PALCA-UNIÓN DE UNIONES.
