The initiative of the Andalusian right to increase intensive irrigated agriculture on the edge of Doñana has struck a chord on Monday that is most sensitive to voters attracted by its economic policies.
The red fruit sector, which had a turnover of 1,181 million in foreign sales in 2021, peered into the abyss with the demand of 23 European supermarket chains and marketers to the Andalusian president, Juan Manuel Moreno (PP), for his parliamentary group to withdraw the bill —presented together with Ciudadanos and Vox— that would increase red fruit greenhouses by 1,900 hectares in the surroundings of the nature reserve.
Only the sum of seven of the 23 food multinationals that demand that Moreno rectify represents more than 40,000 points of sale in the world, and 80% of the production of berries from Huelva travels abroad.
In other words, the impact of the parliamentary measure would have a direct and devastating effect on the economy of Huelva if the doors of the supermarkets on the continent are closed.
Giants such as the British Tesco and Sainsbury's or the German Lidl and Aldi, aware that the aquifer dries up due to illegal wells that irrigate crops, demand that Moreno stop the bill presented in January in the Andalusian Parliament: "Not guarantee the long-term sustainability of soil and water management in Doñana,
The letter is a warning to the 1,300 red fruit producers, many of whom welcomed the plans of the Andalusian right to increase irrigation, but which could be a shot in the foot that will affect their businesses.
Two of the signing international chains, Lidl and Aldi, are present in Spain —which consumes 20% of the production of berries—, and they have a thousand supermarkets in national territory.
"We are concerned that the proposed changes [to increase irrigation] may undermine the objective of ensuring more sustainable crops at the origin of the supply chain and endanger the Doñana National Park," the letter reflects.
After the parliamentary initiative was made public in January, the European Commission has threatened Spain with a million-dollar fine if the bill succeeds for disobeying a ruling by the EU Court of Justice in this regard;
the Government has announced that it will take the measure to the Constitutional Court for invading its powers;
and UNESCO demanded that Spain close the illegal farms that have depleted the aquifer of the Biosphere Reserve for decades.
However, the initiative is being processed urgently and could be approved before the summer.
Aerial view of a water catchment and two ponds between greenhouses in Lucena del Puerto (Huelva).
THE COUNTRY PACO PUENTES (THE COUNTRY)
The Andalusian Government called the warning from European multinationals a "disinformation campaign", but admitted that it could cause "serious harm to thousands of families in Huelva and Andalusia".
The Board, in a statement, considered that it is an "obvious case of misinformation", since "it is false that an amnesty has been proposed for illegal irrigation, which seems to be the starting point of the controversy."
The solution is, for the Executive of Moreno, to undertake the hydraulic works to transfer 20 hectometers of surface water per year that would allow the closure of the thousand illegal wells in the area.
The Andalusian Minister for Sustainable Development, Carmen Crespo, will go to Brussels this week to give her version of the controversial measure.
The deputies of the PP and Ciudadanos Manuel Andrés González and Julio Díaz refused to speak out while that of Vox, Rafael Segovia, opined: “It is pressure from the multinationals on the parliaments elected by the citizens.
We have limited ourselves to defending farmers, and if they tell me that this initiative is harming them, I withdraw it”.
Mutism of the Spanish
Faced with the drought declared by the Government in the Guadalquivir and the foreseeable cuts in the water rights granted by the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation, the parliamentary initiative of the Andalusian right —which had the abstention of the Andalusian PSOE and the rest voted against of the opposition—broke the historic unity of Huelva farmers.
“The warning from the international chains only confirms our fears that it was going to affect the markets sooner rather than later.
We wonder with what water those illegal hectares are irrigated today and who sells them," warned Manuel Delgado, spokesman for the Puerta de Doñana farmers' association, with 350 workers from Almonte who own 52% of the land affected by the management plan. of 2014 of the Board and that the parliamentary initiative now intends to modify.
At the moment, Spanish food distribution has not shown the same environmental sensitivity to the problem as Europe.
This Monday, both Asedas [association that brings together 75% of national distribution, including Lidl] and the minority Aces [grouping Alcampo, Carrefour, Eroski and Supercor] have refused to comment on the initiative.
Several seasonal workers work in some strawberry greenhouses in Almonte (Huelva), in 2020. PACO PUENTES
From Lidl, with 630 stores in Spain and 11,500 in total, they explained yesterday why they joined the pressure measure: "The Doñana aquifer is one of the main ecosystems in Europe and this initiative consolidates our commitment to environmental sustainability", indicated a spokesman for the German giant.
Germany is the main consumer of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries followed by the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands.
Aldi, the other German multinational with 5,000 supermarkets spread across nine European countries, including 350 establishments in Spain, explained in a statement:
The 23 multinationals and marketers who signed the text conveyed their letter to the Andalusian president through the environmental organization WWF, with which many of them verify on the ground the legal origin of the water to irrigate the strawberries.
The general secretary of WWF, Juan Carlos del Olmo, has summarized the objective of the coordinated action: "European supermarkets are very clear and demand guarantees that the strawberries they market have been produced legally and without damaging Doñana and respecting the wording original Strawberry Plan approved in 2014″.
Given the sum of contrary effects generated at an institutional and now economic level, it remains to be seen whether the parliamentary initiative is approved before the summer or is left to die due to parliamentary inaction before the regional elections are called,
scheduled for next fall.
This Tuesday is World Water Day and the UN has dedicated it to groundwater.
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