UPA Jaén has focused its demands on two issues considered "fundamental" for the future of Jaén's countryside: the regularization of 30,000 hectares of traditional olive groves and the establishment of a homogeneous water allocation for all olive groves.
These requests are included in the allegations that the agricultural organization has registered to the Provisional Scheme of Important Topics (EPTI) of the fourth hydrological planning cycle of the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Demarcation.
The entity pursues a more equitable distribution of water, based on criteria of territorial balance, sustainability, and support for traditional olive groves and family farming, and that guarantees the same irrigation allocation for all olive groves, regardless of the cultivation system.
For this reason, UPA Jaén has fully joined the allegations presented by the Provincial Council of Jaén. The organization considers it "essential" that the next hydrological planning ensures water resources for all territories and crops on equal terms, avoiding privileges between regions or production models.
The deputy general secretary of Organization and Administration of UPA Jaén, Elio Sánchez, has emphasized that what they are demanding is "a social and fairer distribution of water, that there be water for everyone on equal terms of cultivation and zone, and that there is no privileged zone over another."
In this regard, UPA Jaén proposes to incorporate a new Sheet 13 into the EPTI in order to enable the regularization of approximately 30,000 hectares of traditional olive groves in the province, with an estimated consumption of 45 cubic hectometers per year.
The organization maintains that this action is key to safeguarding the economic, social, and environmental viability of numerous historical and consolidated agricultural holdings. "The regularization of these 30,000 hectares means providing legal and water security to strategic holdings for the maintenance of employment, the rural economy, and the population in our municipalities," stressed Elio Sánchez.
In parallel, UPA Jaén proposes that the hydrological planning establish a single water allocation for all olive groves, without differentiating between traditional and super-intensive olive groves.
"We defend a very clear principle: a crop must have a single allocation. It is not reasonable that, currently, super-intensive olive groves have 3,500 cubic meters per hectare compared to approximately 1,200 for traditional olive groves," stated Sánchez.
The organization recalls that traditional olive groves, which are the majority in the province, play a decisive social, territorial, and environmental role in Jaén, acting as an economic engine, retaining population, and generating employment in rural areas.
"Traditional olive groves need water planning that guarantees their viability and competitiveness. We are talking about an agricultural model that keeps the territory alive and that cannot be at a disadvantage compared to more intensive systems," Sánchez added.
UPA Jaén insists that the proposals put forward align with the principles of territorial cohesion, sustainability, and distributive justice that should guide the new Guadalquivir hydrological planning cycle, and hopes that the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation will incorporate these allegations into the final document.