The agricultural union Unió de Pagesos has publicly denounced that the Department of Agriculture of the Generalitat de Catalunya does not plan to grant financial aid to farmers affected by drought in dry-land almond and carob crops. The union had proposed compensation of 180 euros per affected hectare, but has yet to receive a satisfactory response from the Generalitat.
According to data from the agricultural group, the lack of rain between 2022 and 2024 has caused a drastic drop in production: 80% in dry-land almonds and 50% in carobs. Furthermore, union representatives lament the low price of carobs, currently trading between 0.30 and 0.35 €/kg, a far cry from the 1.5 €/kg prices of 2022.
The Department of Agriculture has committed to announcing aid related to hazelnut production by the end of the year. However, Unió de Pagesos demands that these funds be disbursed in 2026 to address the current campaign's financial needs.
Unió de Pagesos warns that if the Department does not establish an aid line to mitigate these losses, they will initiate mobilizations. The union presented a compensation proposal in November, and last July the Generalitat indicated they «did not see it clearly», according to Sergi Martín, the union's dry fruit representative. ACN has attempted to contact the Department of Agriculture without success.
The union asserts that the Generalitat has not «detected» the drop in dry-land almond production because it calculates a global yield including irrigated almonds. In Tarragona, for instance, the yield in 2024 was 2,988 kg/ha for irrigated almonds, but only 262 kg/ha for dry-land, indicating an 80% decrease.
Regarding carobs, despite a 50% production drop according to the union, the Department believes losses do not reach 30%, thus preventing access to aid. Unió de Pagesos also calls for consideration of the significant price decrease for the product.
Sergi Martín also highlighted the social role of the farming sector in preventing forest fires. He noted that the Department of Agriculture conveyed they could not be «guarantors of so many things» and suggested that the Department of Territory might assume part of these aids, although the union is unaware if negotiations between the two departments have taken place.
