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ARCHIVED - Climate change kills 50,000 sheep and goats and wipes out crops in Murcia
Cereal crops, grapes, potatoes and livestock have all been decimated by frost and drought in the last few months
Adverse and abnormal climatological conditions in southeast Spain have meant that staple crops and the livestock that really on them for feed are faring much worse than normal this year.
The North West and Altiplano areas of the Region of Murcia are suffering the most from the recent lack of rainfall, with vineyard grapes, almonds and cereal crops being severely affected, along with grazing livestock.
Murcia and its neighbour Almeria are among the two provinces that supply most of Spain’s fresh produce, and export the most to the rest of Europe. Farming – of both crops and livestock – forms the backbone of the local economy in these areas.
This year, it is estimated that the drought has already wiped out 50,000 head of livestock and 70,000 hectares of unirrigated land in the Region of Murcia.
Just a year ago, the agricultural sector in the Region of Murcia feared that the heavy rains in the spring would result in crops being lost due to fungus, pests or root ‘asphyxia’. Today, the menace is the exact opposite. The lack of rainfall is leaving fruit and vegetable farms that rely on rainwater irrigation, as well as grazing livestock farmers, with an uncertain future.
The lack of water is most troubling for the extensive fields of cereals, almond trees and vineyards that are found in the Region, while sheep and goat farmers are also badly affected.
The Community’s Regional Agricultural Offices, based on estimates, calculate that 30% of these livestock have been lost in these areas, just over 50,000 animals, “due to the lack of pasture and grazing land to feed them,” says Francisco González Zapater, Secretary General of the Regional Ministry of Agriculture.
These farms keep goats and sheep on feed only, which the producers must buy at an inflated price because of the lack of cereals due to the war in Ukraine.
“A head of cattle consumes between 0.7 and 1 kilo of feed per day, and this is an unaffordable cost for the farmer.”
Potato harvests are also down by around 25% this year, and the lack of supply has pushed prices up by 44%, according to data from the Coordination of Farmers' and Stockbreeders’ Organisations (COAG). The problem for potatoes is not drought, but rather frost.
The sudden frosts in southern Spain this February meant that several crops were affected, in particular potatoes, lettuce and peaches.
At the same time, the UK is facing a shortage of bell peppers, ostensibly because of climate conditions in Spain.
In February, the UK also suffered a tomato shortage that was widely reported to be a result of the cold snap.
However, while Spain has been having problems with its crops due to the changing climate, it is only the UK that has experienced shortages of fresh produce in supermarkets because traders prefer to send their scarce supply to countries within the EU that don’t have trade restrictions and high tariffs like the UK.
It should be pointed out that, for now, there is no shortage of either peppers or other produce in Spanish supermarkets.
Related story: A return to traditional farming—How to save the Mar Menor
Images: Archive
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