The devastating DANA flooded a total of 47,376 hectares of agricultural land in Valencia, representing 89.2% of the total area affected by the flood.
The worst extreme weather event in history in the region, the High Level Isolated Depression (DANA), which hit the Spanish Levante on October 29has caused an unprecedented disaster in many sectors, and one of the most affected is agriculture.
Flooded and devastated landscape
The intense rains of the DANA and the overflow of the Turia and Júcar rivers transformed large areas and lands of the Valencian coastal plain into a flooded landscape, washing away fields and destroying crops.
The data, provided by Fincalista, quantifies the serious effects on agricultural land with thousands of hectares flooded, of which 22,557 correspond to fruit trees.
Fruits and rice fields
The Valencian plain, crossed by the Júcar and Turia riverslike many ravines, has been cultivated for centuries, with much of its land used for fruit trees and rice fields. These crops, essential to the region’s agricultural economy, were most affected by the flooding.
The portal indicates that “the waters, remaining flooded for days, affected the health of the plantationsaccording to the announcement portal, emphasizing that in addition, the trees suffered structural damage that could significantly reduce production in the years to come.
Structural damage
“The situation is also serious for another of the pillars of Valencian agriculture, the rice fieldswith 16,368 hectares of crops flooded.
Although the rice field is a crop adapted to waterlogging situations, the the structural damage was very serious and they will affect the annual harvest,” explains Portalista, a portal for buying, selling and renting farms and land, which is owned by agricultural asset manager Generandi.
Economic losses
Economic losses for the agricultural sector are difficult to calculate at present, but initial estimates indicate millionaire figures.
In this sense, the Association of Valencian Peasants (AVA-ASAJA) warned that theFruit and rice production losses could exceed 100 million euroswithout taking into account the additional costs of rehabilitating land and irrigation systems damaged by the flood.
Government assistance
Last Monday, the government approved direct aid to farmers and breeders amounting to 200 million euros. In addition to this assistance from DANA, The Executive will allocate 170 million euros to repair the damage on land, plots, rural roads, production structures and irrigation systems, through the public company Tragsa.
Likewise, he approved a allocation of 10 million euros for agricultural machineryas well as a credit line and ICO guarantees worth 60 million to facilitate access to financing for farmers and breeders.
Effect on GDP
He Bank of Spain provides that the DANA that the Spanish Levante suffered a few weeks ago has an impact of two tenths on the Gross domestic product (GDP) and 0.15 points on the Consumer Price Index (CIP).
This was stated by the governor of the organization, José Luis Escriva, in a statement. report title Assessment of the effects of DANA on the financial system and the economy published this Wednesday.
“He impact what happened is important, but “limited,” Escriva said during his speech at the Macroeconomic Information Conference organized by APIE, focused on the effects of DANA.
