IU Castilla-La Mancha: “Not limiting grape production per hectare increases water consumption and leads to unsustainability”
The regional coordinator of the formation Juan Ramón Crespo believes that the regional government “has missed an opportunity” with the recently approved Law of the Vine and Wine.
In his opinion, the regional government “has missed the opportunity to regulate the sector in greater depth by developing an innovative law that protects small and medium farmers, and that ensures the sustainability of this crop”.
Therefore, and since it is small and medium-sized farmers who directly work the vineyards”, urges Crespo to “lower the kilograms per hectare, instead of giving priority to the benefit of large farms, limiting grape production yields per hectare”.
It argues that small and medium producers claim that, as a general rule, production should be at a maximum of 20,000 kilos per hectare for white grapes and 18,000 kilos per hectare for red grapes.
At this point, Juan Ramón Crespo appreciates that “if the indicated ceilings had been set, apart from the sustainability of the farms by limiting irrigation, the quality of the grapes would have been improved, thus encouraging a rise in the prices of the same”The main beneficiaries are small and medium-sized producers.
He adds that it is “the large producers who exceed these quantities by carrying out large prospecting for the collection of water destined for the irrigation of the vineyards, so they transform the cultivation of the vine, which has traditionally been rainfed, into an irrigated crop”. And this, he says, “makes it an unsustainable model for a dry land like that of Castilla-La Mancha, and because of climate change, more and more”.
“We must guarantee the best working conditions in the harvest”
Alberto Parrilla, councillor in the City Council and candidate of Izquierda Unida in Valdepeñas, highlighted the importance of guaranteeing the working conditions of workers in the harvest.
Therefore, and with the aim of avoiding any damage, requires “compliance with existing regulations on occupational risks prevention” and the provision of all means for people working in the collection of grapes “maintain a good hydration, protect themselves with sunscreen and have the precise material for their correct protection”. That is why it has required the town council to activate the harvest device.
SOURCE: ELDIARIO.ES