Young Farmers and Ranchers of Catalonia (Jarc) has requested the Department of Territory of the Generalitat to extend the authorized hours for mechanized harvesting in olive groves and to achieve a "balance" between the protection of wildlife and the development of agricultural activity.
In a statement released this Thursday, the organization details that, currently, producers can only use harvesting machinery in intensive olive plantations until 5 PM, in order to avoid disturbing certain species. However, Jarc believes that these limitations "do not take into sufficient account the reality of work in the field."
According to the sector director of olives at Jarc, Joan Calam, the entity assumes that the defense of biodiversity is essential and that farmers are the first interested in preserving it, but they warn that imposing "irrational and unfair" rules adds more obstacles to an activity that already faces numerous difficulties.
In contrast, the agricultural organization proposes that regulations "based on technical, proportional criteria and compatible with the continuity of productive activity" be applied.
"We are not proposing a debate between biodiversity and farmers. What we are asking for is an intelligent regulation that allows for the protection of wildlife and, at the same time, guarantees that the farms are viable and that people can work under adequate conditions," Calam has explained.