AVA-ASAJA calls for a restructuring plan for the area affected by the eighth outbreak of Xyella
The devastating bacterium of the Xylella fastidiosa continues its relentless advance through the Valencian territory in the face of the growing concern of the farmers. The Conselleria de Agricultura confirmed that it has detected an eighth outbreak of the disease in the same demarcated area of the Marina and Comptat region where the epicenter of this serious problem that broke out in June of last year is located.
In this new outbreak, the novelty that is increasing the concern of the agricultural sector, lies in the fact that the bacteria has manifested for the first time in shrub plants, when to date had only attacked almonds. The list of positive cases located on this occasion amounts to a total of 30, some of them in plants such as the aliaga, the evergreens, the chamomile, the rosemary or the aladierno, and most of them in the almond tree. Of the 6,008 samples taken during this year, more than 2,000 are still pending analysis, so it would not be unlikely that new cases would appear.
“The Xylella is becoming a real epidemic for the entire affected area,” laments the president of the Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA), Cristóbal Aguado-and a potential threat to the whole of Valencian agriculture before which the Administration in general, and more specifically the Ministry of Agriculture in the exercise of its powers, must act with firmness and forcefulness “. The agrarian organization demands the establishment of a support to the surface for tillage of conservation in those plots whose almonds have been uprooted, as well as that a plan of restructuring is elaborated for the area where the Xylella is causing havoc in order to be able to offer alternatives of future to the farmers forced to uproot their almonds in compliance with the eradication plan drawn up by Brussels.
Likewise, the payment of the compensations contemplated for the start of the trees must be carried out with the maximum speed, since it is an extreme and traumatic measure. “We are facing an increasingly serious situation,” says Cristóbal Aguado, “and the Conselleria has to take a step forward and take the initiative in the search for viable options, it can not limit itself to applying the protocols. It takes imagination and commitment. ”
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