Farmers defend a 15% cut for all sectors
Farmers in the Algarve are calling for a change to the water cuts that were imposed by the previous Socialist government, warning that they will “only accept equal cuts” for all sectors in the region.
The announcement was made by the Algarve Commission for Hydro-Agricultural Sustainability (CSHA) today on the eve of the meeting of the region’s reservoir management commission (officially named Southern Zone Regional Subcommittee of the Reservoir Management Commission) to assess Algarve’s current state of water resources.
The CSHA, which represents over 1,000 producers, operators and associations in the Algarve’s agricultural sector, believes that the forecast of surface water stored at the region’s dams and reservoirs has already been “exceeded” and that the region has “sufficient water levels for the coming years”.
“Bearing in mind that no justification has ever been presented for the difference between the cuts for agriculture and the other sectors (…), the CSHA will only accept what it has always defended, a cut in water consumption of 15% for all sectors,” it pointed out.
The committee said it expects that the cuts in force since January, of 15% for the urban and tourism sectors and 25% for agriculture, will be changed at Tuesday’s meeting – which will be attended by the main players involved in water use.
“We also hope that, at this meeting, a proposal will be presented for legislation on groundwater management that will pave the way for the creation of associations of installed producers and users of each aquifer,” the statement added.
At the same time, the CSHA said it would “like to hear” the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) announce an increase in the volume of water to be transferred from the Funcho dam to the Arade dam in the western Algarve.
The measure has been requested by the Silves, Lagoa and Portimão Irrigation Association, he added, so that agriculture in the area can be successful with a 15% cut, as it “needs five cubic hectometres of water from Funcho”.
“We believe that only by implementing these measures will it be possible to contribute to the sustainable management of water resources and guarantee the efficient supply of water to agriculture, which are priorities assumed by this government,” the CSHA statement concluded.
The Algarve has been on alert due to drought since February 5, which led the previous government to approve a series of measures to restrict consumption, namely a 15% reduction in the urban sector, including tourism, and a 25% reduction in agriculture.
Algarve MP and vice-president of PSD’s parliamentary group, Cristóvão Norte, has already hinted at a possible easing of water cuts in the Algarve.
“It is a fact that the Algarve has not gone from scarcity to abundance,” Norte said in a statement to the press last week, alluding to the rain that fell in the Algarve in March which helped improve water levels at regional dams.
“But it is also true that with the reservoirs more replenished – showing similar levels to the same period of 2023 – it is important to reconsider the cuts imposed on the agricultural sector, checking if there are conditions to ease the restrictions and ensure more water for farmers to produce,” the Algarve MP stated.
Source: LUSA
