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The future of Doñana matters to the Zurich consumer

2022-03-29T21:59:44.096Z


The warning from the distribution chains of the continent so that the Andalusian right wing withdraws the extension of irrigation next to this natural space keeps farmers in suspense


Antonia Pérez, an agricultural engineer who runs a 100-hectare berry farm on Isla Cristina (Huelva), was extremely concerned last week when she saw that her client Migros, a Swiss supermarket chain, was among the 23 multinationals that have asked the Andalusian president , Juan Manuel Moreno (PP), to stop his plan to increase irrigation in the surroundings of Doñana.

“The possibility that all foreign purchases of strawberries will be cut off is real.

Auditors from European supermarkets come and ask us: 'What is happening in Huelva?'

Their consumers want to make sure they buy well and they are concerned about sustainability, about how it is grown.

Politicians have not measured the consequences well, ”she states.

The most emblematic protected area in Spain has lost almost all of its wetlands due to the massive plundering of the aquifer through illegal wells during the last decade.

And that is what worries the Zurich consumer, who is unaware that Pérez's farm is next to Portugal, almost 100 kilometers from the reserve and with no damage to its overexploited aquifer, but who will stop buying Spanish strawberries if this tasty fruit It is associated with an environmental problem that harms the migration of birds that live in the Swiss country.

The menu of supermarkets and marketers, with more than 40,000 points of sale in the world, keeps the sector in suspense, which last year exported 80% of its 450,000 tons of berries to the continent for almost 1,200 million.

More than 80,000 people participate in the strawberry campaign in this Andalusian province.

If the blood reaches the river and the doors of European establishments are closed to red fruits, the damage to Huelva's economy would be devastating.

In 2021 Andalusia led exports to the continent with 1,404 million (81% of the total), but there are other thriving regions such as the Valencian Community (181 million, 10% of the total) or Catalonia (84 million, 2.6%), according to figures officers.

"The supermarkets have told us this week in a radical way: 'As you have a farm in illegal areas near Doñana, I will stop buying from you.'

They also require the updated certificate of water availability or the own concession.

Of course, we expected their reaction, ”says Manuel Delgado, spokesman for the Puerta de Doñana association, which brings together 350 farmers with legalized farms in Almonte and who have asked the PP, Ciudadanos and Vox to withdraw their bill to avoid greater evils .

The alert from Migros, with 630 supermarkets in Switzerland, is clear: “We are transparent, we want to produce and sell food, and respect nature, so we verify our impact on sustainability.

The area around Doñana needs to be protected for the environment and also to maintain its many jobs.

Otherwise, the consequences for the area will be drastic”, warns a spokesman for the chain.

Pérez sells almost 100% of his 2,500 tons of berries per year to the Swiss country, hence his concern.

Manuel Delgado, spokesman for the Puerta de Doñana association, on Friday in Almonte (Huelva). PACO PUENTES (EL PAÍS)

As a result of the plan to expand irrigation drawn up by the Andalusian right, the traditional unity of the farmers has been broken.

A further 1,400 hectares would be added to the current 11,700 hectares of crops -which the environmental organization WWF raises to 1,900-, and with the extreme drought that the Guadalquivir basin is suffering, the water restrictions that already affect crops in the marsh will be extended to the western part of the park the next few years.

“The bill will mean that the surface waters will be left to the new [farmers], and if the aquifer is overexploited, the water reductions will be on us,” complains Francisco Marín, a farmer with 150 hectares in Almonte and who sells all his production to the United Kingdom and Germany, the main consumer of red fruits.

In the latter country, the giant Edeka, with 11,000 stores, is also blunt: “With its bill, the Andalusian Government is endangering the survival of the Doñana National Park, but also the future of local agriculture.

Falling groundwater levels will make it increasingly difficult for farmers to maintain their businesses.

In this way, we fear that without sustainable water management, southern Spain and its ecosystems will dry out with climate change.

In addition, Edeka would lose a very important region that provides fruits and vegetables.

For all these reasons we support the petition to the Board coordinated by WWF”, warn sources from the firm.

Edeka, like the Scandinavian chain Coop Trading (4,500 supermarkets) and the Swiss Coop (950 stores),

WWF is working in Doñana to verify, together with these chains, the good environmental practices of the strawberry farmers who supply them, and issued the common letter addressed to the regional Executive.

The Andalusian president admitted that the letter could cause "serious harm to thousands of families in Huelva and Andalusia", but the next day he wanted to lower the tone of the alarm generated by denying the greatest: "I have not received any letter from supermarket chains but from an environmental organization,” he said.

The farmers who promoted the bill, brought together in the Platform in Defense of Irrigation, have demanded dialogue from the supermarket chains, since they consider that they have been “deceived”.

"Only environmentalists have been heard, misinformation is reaching them and we have requested a meeting with those responsible for these chains," its president, Romualdo Macías, said in a statement.

Julio Díaz, the Citizens deputy who promoted the legal change, also affects this supposed deception of the multinationals: “There is a lot of misinformation about Doñana.

I am convinced that supermarkets do not all react at the same time without being intoxicated, on the one hand by the Government of Spain and on the other by WWF”.

This Tuesday the appearances of experts in the Andalusian Parliament for legal reform begin.

Box with strawberries in a greenhouse on Isla Cristina.

PACO PUENTES (THE COUNTRY)

Alejandro Marín is a quality controller for a British fruit importer and perceives that the sustainability demands for European supermarkets are on the rise: "Work exploitation is becoming more and more important for supermarkets as well as social initiatives, fertilizers, waste of food and water.

Doñana is a media zone for the United Kingdom, just like the Mar Menor, where the mortality of fish has been tremendously visible.

The British are very given to ornithology and they care about Doñana because all the birds of their country pass through here”, he illustrates.

The British NGO Ethical Consumer (ethical consumer) receives complaints about the production of Andalusian fruits: "It is great to see that supermarkets collaborate to put pressure on the Andalusian Government and protect the environment in Huelva, but we have also received numerous reports about labor abuses through seasonal workers and supermarkets have not reacted yet”, criticizes Jasmine Owens, editor of the magazine of this NGO.

An example of closing the doors to certain companies was carried out last year by the Danish group Salling, which stopped buying goods from a Huelva supplier after a journalistic investigation was published about poor working conditions and the employer refused to receive visits without prior notice. notice from the Danish firm to verify these conditions, confirms a spokesman for the group, with 1,700 stores of brands such as Netto and Bilka in Denmark, Poland and Germany.

The notice of the European supermarkets to the Andalusian Board has not had an echo at the moment in the chains in Spain, with the exception of the German Aldi and Lidl, with a thousand establishments in the country.

The Spanish food chains do not hire external remote sensing companies nor do they send their own personnel to verify that the extension of the farms does not exceed what the official irrigation permits indicate, unlike the foreign ones.

The Eurobarometer reflects how the awareness of Spaniards is lower regarding environmental problems than in Central Europe, the United Kingdom or Scandinavia.

Both the Huelva Chamber of Commerce and the interprofessional association Interfresa have refused to comment for this report.

The pressure from the agri-food industry on the Andalusian president will continue in the coming weeks, and behind the supermarkets, large companies from the Platform for Sustainable Juices - made up of 46 firms such as Coca-Cola and Pepsico - are signing a letter asking him to rectify.

Like Javier Arizmendi, director of operations of the Valencian company Zerya, who criticizes: “Politics cannot be put before science.

The damage can be irreversible and it is bread for today and hunger for tomorrow.

In five years the water will run out, that will be barren, the park will be destroyed and there will be no business for anyone.

It is nonsense”.

The European supermarkets demanded an answer from Moreno after informing him: "We trust that he will desist from the proposed modifications."

Now the Swedish chain Valora, with 2,700 points of sale, adds: “Appropriate measures must be adopted to ensure the long-term sustainability of water and soil in Doñana.

If that does not happen, Andalusia's reputation and development as a supplier region will be at risk”.

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-03-29

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