The Generalitat has brought to a close this week the 2026 rice-straw management campaign, in which the collection and baling without charge of 1,000 tons of plant waste from the mowing has been carried out, and which can be used for different uses and sectors.
From the Third Vice-Presidency and the Department of Environment, Infrastructures, Land and of Recovery, an alternative to burning straw is being proposed to producers, which extends to the four main rice-growing areas of the Valencian Community: l'Albufera, the South Bank of the Xúquer, Pego-Oliva and Almenara, the regional Administration has said in a statement.
The campaign was launched with the first mowings in September. In addition, the Generalitat brought forward the start of the period permitted for burning straw and stubble to 16 September, which will last until the end of the mowing campaign and, in any case, until 31 December 2026, provided that the fire-risk and precipitation conditions make it possible.
The removal service, which is managed by the public company Vaersa, makes it easier for farmers to apply free of charge for the collection of the waste from their plots through a specific platform available on its website. Using the same tool, companies and individuals also have the option to request, again at no cost, the straw already baled.
From the Generalitat they have stated that demand for this resource for reuse exceeds the volume collected and that a waiting list has already been generated. Among the interested sectors and projects are livestock farming, agriculture, fallas, bioconstruction and the footwear industry, as well as research initiatives aimed at its application in beauty and rejuvenation products.
This management model makes it possible to give a “second life” to an agricultural byproduct and “connect the rice sector with other economic activities that can take advantage of the harvest waste as a resource,” they emphasized from the Third Vice-Presidency.
The device presents options to treat harvest waste and prevent its accumulation from causing episodes of blackwater and anoxia in wetlands, especially when the straw is not removed or burned.
The expansion of the authorized period for burning has also made it possible to address the production of straw from the earliest rice varieties. After the harvest in l'Albufera is concluded, the 'perellonà' begins, the winter flooding process of the natural park, which extends until January. In fact, some fields are already flooded, especially in the lowest areas, such as the tancats.