The general secretary of the Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers of Castilla-La Mancha (UPA C-LM), Julián Morcillo, has "raised the alarm" about the provisional schemes for the new hydrological planning cycle in the region's demarcations. He summarizes these drafts as "water cuts, irrigation cuts, and extinction of rights" that will affect "thousands of farmers" and which, according to his calculations, will cause direct damage to the agricultural sector of "277 million euros, on the order of more than 500 million transferred to regional GDP".
Morcillo warns that the document, made public on November 28, foresees a severe adjustment in numerous areas of Castilla-La Mancha. "We are talking about towns like Montealegre, Fuenteálamo, Albatana, or Tobarra that will have to switch two-thirds of their irrigation to dry farming," he emphasizes, warning that the planning itself acknowledges that it will cause "social unrest and depopulation." Hence his question: "If we have to close the towns, what will be left afterwards?".
In an interview with Europa Press at the UPA headquarters in Albacete, the agricultural leader details his analysis of the proposal from the hydrographic demarcations. In his opinion, "a pattern" of cuts is being repeated in the seven basins that affect the community, set by the Hydrographic Confederations and scheduled for implementation at the end of 2027. This timeline, he maintains, would lead as the "only solution" to "all affected crops" switching to dry farming, without the necessary support or temporal margin to reconvert the farms. "We have sounded the alarm, and I think we have fallen short," he states.
As an example, he mentions the planning for the Guadiana basin, where a scenario "of extinction of rights" is proposed. He recalls that this is a territory already strained by water scarcity, for which UPA had been demanding a solution at least for priority farms. After having resolved "4,500 cases for woody crops, about 20,000 hectares," he laments that they are now being informed that "this planning process will extinguish their right at the end of December 31, 2027."
In the Segura basin, he adds, the blow is concentrated on the use of groundwater, "which is practically 80% of irrigation." Currently, there are concessions for 100 cubic hectometers, but the draft only allows the use of 33. "This means ceasing to use 64% of the resource we use today, and that means cutting back on irrigation areas and dedicating them to dry farming," he details.
Faced with this scenario, UPA has initiated an intensive information campaign among irrigation communities, while also studying mobilizations and preparing legally for the period of allegations that will open in May. Morcillo indicates that they are also "trying to get political parties to take a stance" and have requested a meeting with the Ministry for Ecological Transition, because they fear that "perhaps they are not aware of the damage they can do us" with a plan that is based on the new Water Framework Directive and the Water Law.
The head of UPA considers that, for now, the regional president, Emiliano García-Page, has perceived "our alarm," while the organization works to convey its demands to European institutions. The objective is to achieve deadline exceptions and changes in the directive that allow for realistic alternatives to "not leave Castilla-La Mancha without water."
TRUMP, "A MADMAN AT THE HEAD OF WORLD GEOPOLITICS"
The water crisis is added to another front that is hitting the countryside: the international instability derived from the war with Iran initiated by the US president, Donald Trump, whom Morcillo defines as "a madman at the head of world geopolitics who is leading the economy to a setback whose scope we are not yet able to assess and which will have repercussions for everyone, not just consumers."
As he recounts, the consequences were perceived "in the first seven days of the conflict" due to speculation about energy surcharges. Agricultural diesel went from 90 cents to 1.70 euros, "before the price of barrels rose so much." With fertilizers, he adds, the dynamic has been similar, "especially with nitrogenous ones, worsening the situation that our farms already had" and generating doubts about the supply of diesel "at a time of maximum activity in the countryside."
Morcillo maintains that the agricultural sector is "tied hand and foot" to face this situation, "with the market intervened and where producers cannot set prices." He cites the case of milk, where "due to a decision by the dairy industries, the price our producers receive is falling when costs are increasing," or that of cereals, "where the selling price is not raised while we are paying double to move a tractor."
These tensions come after a year of protests against the latest CAP reform, in which the European Union proposed "the largest cut in history, 22% of the budget," in addition to a new distribution among Member States that, according to Morcillo, questioned "its spirit of common policy" and fueled "conflicts between countries and productions."
UPA participated in the mobilizations and in the negotiating process that led to a shift by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who sent a letter to Parliament that "winked" at strengthening direct aid and increasing common framework funds, with an increase of 45,000 million euros and 48,000 million on each side. "This needs to be defined, we have many doubts about where that budget comes from," the agricultural leader points out. He also recalls that "we still need to see the position of Parliament and the European Council," so he anticipates that they "will have to continue pressing" while outlining a joint position with the Government of Castilla-La Mancha.
The general secretary of UPA also draws attention to another growing problem in the community: the overpopulation of rabbits. "Whether they are considered a plague or not, the problem is becoming endemic," he warns. "Last year we made a declaration of hunting emergency in 300 towns and this year it has been in 367. It has gotten out of hand and in some places, rabbits are causing more damage than storms or floods," he assures.
As a result of the latest mobilizations, especially the concentration held in Toledo, the sector has managed to propose the creation of a working group in which all administrations, river basin confederations, and farmers' and ranchers' organizations participate. Among the measures to be studied are providing more resources and training to farmers, training hunters for specific actions, and even authorizing night hunting in particularly affected areas.
Despite the accumulation of open fronts, Morcillo defends that Castilian-La Mancha agriculture has positioned itself "at the forefront" and leads "many areas such as mushrooms, onions, garlic, or olive oil, in which we are already the second autonomous community in production".
Likewise, he values that the Executive of Emiliano García-Page "has almost always attended to the important demands made of it", and appreciates "that there are things that have improved under his mandate and that although they should always be like this, in other times it has not been the norm". Among the advances, he cites that Castilla-La Mancha is among the regions that process the CAP earliest, among those that most promote improvement plans and the incorporation of young people into the countryside, and among those that make the greatest budgetary effort in agricultural insurance.
As a final reflection, the head of UPA claims the role of the countryside as "the sector with the most future, despite all its difficulties" and "that evolves most rapidly by adapting to changes in technology and innovation". He considers it "part of the hallmark of Castilla-La Mancha" as well as an essential pillar of its GDP. "I cannot imagine this region without agriculture," he concludes.