The Association of Farmers and Ranchers of Canary Islands (Asaga Canarias Asaja) has set itself the immediate objective of “saving agricultural land from future occupation that is intended to be carried out with the expansion of the Malpaís de la Rasca Special Nature Reserve.” To do this, it relies on the opinion issued by the Consultative Council of the Canary Islands, which objects to the proposed law being processed at the proposal of PSOENC, Podemos and ASG. The regulation intends to extend the protection of the current 312 hectares to 557, “ignoring the agricultural activity that takes place in the northwestern part of this area.”
Asaga points out that the opinion of the Consultative Council of the Canary Islands ensures that the PPL “lacks the pertinent technical reports that support, from the scientific-environmental point of view, the legislative proposal presented, so it cannot issue an adequate pronouncement on its content ». He alleges this institution that “the presence of pre-existing natural values that make it deserving of its protection is essential.” Without this information, the PPL compromises the legal certainty of the regulations presented, according to the association.
The opinion underlines that the PPL “introduces important restrictions on the use of the land to be protected that can seriously affect the rights of existing individuals in the area.” This consideration supports what Asaga maintains since he became aware of said extension, that is, “the incompatibility of the agricultural activity carried out here once the land is subjected to the new territorial planning determinations”.
Given the “unjustified speed” with which this PPL is being processed and “the fear” that the affected agricultural activity could be paralyzed, Asaga points out, the landowners commissioned the drafting of an environmental technical report that Asaga Canarias Asaja has been able to study . According to this document, “its inclusion in the Network of Protected Natural Areas of the Canary Islands is considered unjustifiable, because said land does not contain elements or natural systems of special interest or value; it does not play an important role in the maintenance of the essential ecological processes of the Islands, such as soil protection, aquifer recharge and other similar ones; It does not constitute a representative sample of the main natural systems and of the characteristic habitats, terrestrial and marine, of the archipelago and does not house populations of animals or plants classified as threatened species, high concentrations of endemic elements or species that by virtue of international agreements or provisions specific ones require special protection, among other issues”, adds the agrarian association.
The president of Asaga Canarias Asaja, Ángela Delgado, who continues the round of meetings with the parliamentary groups to explain the negative consequences of this expansion and invite them to visit the Malpaís de la Rasca and get to know the current agricultural reality in situ, states that ” We will continue to gather support until this squatting, which we describe as an outrage, is paralyzed. The activity of those who invest and generate economy cannot be strangled because with measures like this. The agricultural sector dies little by little », she adds.
The grape predominates
It should be remembered that the predominant crop in the Malpaís de Rasca is the vineyard (25 hectares), with such emblematic varieties as the aromatic Malvasía, Marmajuelo and Moscatel de Alejandría. Facilities such as a visitable winery, farmer’s houses, warehouses for agricultural equipment and machinery, irrigation rooms, hydrants and water tanks, as well as other crops are also included: 15 hectares of banana trees under greenhouse, about three hectares of avocado and 18 hectares of vegetables under execution to adapt the soils to future vineyard plantations.
The grape production obtained from these 25 hectares, the result of technological investment and a “titanic” economic effort by the landowners, today represents 10% of the Abona Denomination of Origin.
Asaga defends that the developed agricultural project is structured to achieve a relevant wine tourism activity with the vision of integrating the environmental values of the adjoining reserve with the agronomic ones, revaluing agriculture thanks to the tourist vocation of Arona and Adeje. The owners underline the abandonment suffered by the Malpaís de Rasca and the need to stop vandalism in crops inside and outside the Reserve.
