The progressive abandonment of the vines

October 13 2023 (11:33 WEST)

Vine cultivation is the one that contributes the most, along with bananas, to maintaining the landscape of the Canary Islands. However, its surface area has been in clear decline in recent years, as demonstrated by the abandoned farms in the Protected Area of La Geria and in the Natural Monument of the Volcano and Malpaís de la Corona, both in Lanzarote. This crop has also experienced a significant decrease on the islands of Tenerife and La Palma.

At the regional level, in 2010, 8,651 hectares were registered for vineyards, which decreased to 6,191 in 2022, meaning that more than 2,400 hectares have been lost in just 10 years. It remains to count the vineyards buried by the Tajogaite volcano, as well as those destroyed by the fires that have recently occurred on the islands of La Palma and Tenerife.

In Lanzarote, as an example at the island level, it can be seen how the 1,839.43 hectares we had in 2002 have decreased to 1,448.03 in 2022 (that is, almost 400 hectares have been lost in twenty years, at a rate of 20 per year), according to data collected from the POSEI aid processed by the Regulatory Council of the Designation of Origin Wines of Lanzarote. This decrease occurs even though new vineyards are being made, but the truth is that the surface area does not compensate for the plots that have been left uncultivated in the heart of La Geria. A unique agricultural system in the world that deserves, until now denied, special attention to preserve its maintenance.

This abandonment translates into an evident loss of landscape that, on islands like Lanzarote, has a vital economic importance because it is its main tourist attraction. This dynamic also occurs in other crops such as potatoes, tomatoes, onions... To combat this trend, measures have been adopted to reduce the operating costs of different crops. In this line, great efforts have been made, and we can cite the following:

- The aid per hectare in tomato cultivation has been significantly increased (24,000 euros/hectare).
- It has been fixed in the state budgets (16 million euros) to cover the cost of agricultural irrigation. Note that the vineyard is cultivated almost entirely in dry land, so it does not benefit from this measure.
- The item destined to cover the transport of bananas to the peninsula has been increased to (20 million euros).

These measures have been adopted by the Ministry or the Department of Agriculture, sometimes via Brussels through modifications of the POSEI and others by new items included in the state budgets. We are in complete agreement with them, given that they are being applied with the aim of reducing the costs of crops in order to provide a decent income for farmers.

However, the same has not happened with the vineyard—in a clear case of comparative grievance, especially with respect to traditional dryland vineyards—as it does not receive financial support in similar conditions, so an increase in the amount of aid received from the POSEI is needed if we want to avoid the progressive abandonment that is occurring throughout the Canary Islands, despite the increase in the price of grapes in the last two harvests.

Another major problem facing the wine sector is the lack of young people, and bringing them closer is not possible if the means are not first put in place to ensure that this crop has a minimum profitability that makes it attractive to those who want to start in it. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the aid to the vineyard in order to maintain a crop that beautifies our landscape and constitutes one of the main tourist attractions of the Canary Islands.

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