SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE 28 APR. (Press Europa) –
The Association of Farmers and Livestock of the Canary Islands (Asaga Canarias Asaja) has urged the Cabildo de Tenerife and, by extension, the Insular Water Council, to act with “urgency” in order to mitigate the excessive salinity levels in irrigation waters in the northern region, which for years have led to “adverse effects” on the production and profitability of their enterprises.
Farmers report that salinisation acts as a “toxin” detrimental to soil fertility, which ultimately inflicts serious harm on crop growth by negatively impacting their root systems. This situation results in decreased productivity and also obstructs drip irrigation systems. In extreme instances, it may force farmers to abandon plantings due to the inability to recuperate what has been sown, or to withdraw from agriculture entirely, unable to manage the financial repercussions.
The crops most severely impacted include primarily potatoes, vegetables, and other sensitive species, such as avocado, which thrive in less saline soils. In light of this situation, Asaga Canarias Asaja insists on the necessity of measures to ensure that agricultural activities in the rural areas of the North do not vanish.
Among the proposed solutions, the affected producers suggest the establishment of a desalination facility at the entrance of the Llanos de Mesa raft, located in La Vera, within the municipality of San Juan de la Rambla, to diminish the salinity levels of the stored water that serves over 400 farmers.
If this solution proves unfeasible, Asaga Canarias Asaja notes—positively acknowledging the completion of works at the EDAR of Punta Brava by next June, as part of Tenerife’s water emergency declaration—that insular public authorities should consider any alternative that ensures the quality of irrigation water. “There is little point in encouraging the sector to professionalise and inviting young individuals to join agriculture if we subsequently lack water resources in both quantity and quality for production,” states Angela Delgado, the organisation’s president.
