The Association of Farmers and Ranchers of the Canary Islands (Asaga Canarias Asaja) has warned of the worrying situation of farmers due to the restrictions of water in Isora Guide, Passion fruit, Tejina-Tegueste and, especially, in the region of the low island.
In a statement, Asaga indicates that the municipalities of Buenavista del Norte, Los Silos and Garachico are facing the impossibility of having a sufficient supply of irrigation water for their crops, mainly bananas.
The agricultural association affirms that the scenario is pessimistic as it coincides in time with the start of the summer season and in a new heat wave this July, hence the affected farmers demand urgent measures from the Island Council of Tenerife to minimize the damage.
Theo Hernando, general secretary of ASAGA Canarias ASAJA points out in the note that the situation is very worrying “and the producers are desperate” and calls for an immediate temporary solution while other definitive actions are considered to avoid crop loss.
Asaga explains that the origin “of this severe water deficit” in the Isla Baja region is related to the recent waterproofing work on the Taco pond, the largest on the island with a storage capacity of about 900,000 cubic meters of water. irrigation water.
After the repair carried out, there has not been time to fill it due to the high consumption derived from the high temperatures registered since March.
The Isla Baja region, isolated
The agricultural association indicates that the region of Isla Baja is isolated, from the hydraulic point of view, since there are no water pipes from other areas, as producers have historically demanded.
In addition, the work of the regional treatment plant, which had a project, land and even a budget for its execution by the Insular Water Council, has been paralyzed due, says Asaga, to ideological issues on the part of the previous municipal government team and the Neighborhood pressure, who were opposed to the installation of this “so necessary infrastructure, not only for irrigation water but to avoid discharges into the sea”.
He adds that as an alternative they proposed a natural purification plant, by lagoons and filtering vegetation, which does not have technical guarantees or sufficient area for the volumes to be treated, the quality and homogeneity that farmers require for use in localized irrigation systems.
A large part of the underground water sources that supply the lower island produce very poor quality water, with very high electrical conductivities (high content of dissolved salts) that affect agricultural soil and the development of plantations, for which reason they must be treated or mixed with better quality ones before being put into service, says Asaga.
The three municipalities that make up Isla Baja, Buenavista del Norte, Los Silos and Garachico, add up to a banana area of 837 Ha, which represents 21% of the total banana crop in Tenerife.
The limitations of energy supply condition the installation of portable desalination plants
Among the proposed measures, work is being done on the installation of portable desalination plants such as those used in La Palma after the volcanic eruption, although, according to Asaga, the drawback is the existence of certain energy supply limitations in the area for this machinery, although it is expected that can be solved.
However, its installation and commissioning can still take several weeks and even months, he adds.
Given the delay that this solution may entail, the farmers themselves propose, as an urgent and immediate measure, allocating part of the water from the golf course desalination plant to the population, which would free the La Monja desalination plant, both in the municipality of Buenavista del Norte, and allocate its production to cover irrigation needs exclusively, since at present part is used for urban supply.
