The Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers (UPA) of Madrid has calculated "preliminarily" that around 18,500 hectares of useful agricultural land have been devastated by the large forest fire that remains active in the Sierra Oeste of the region, and has described the temporary prohibition of agricultural and livestock tasks with machinery resulting from this situation as "illogical."
In a press conference held this Friday to analyze the consequences of the fire, the organization pointed out that the flames would have affected about 28,000 hectares in total. Of these, 17,200 hectares would correspond to burned pastures, damage that will force ranchers to acquire feed "for at least" "two or three years."
UPA also estimates that nearly 700 hectares of permanent olive and vineyard crops have been damaged, mostly belonging to the designation of origin Vinos de Madrid, with a notable impact on the Albillo variety. The organization considers that the "most affected" sector is beekeeping, which "will not be able to recover soon."
"The Sierra Oeste of Madrid has a lot of beekeeping, many beekeepers' nuclei, and these are completely burned and moreover will not be able to recover soon because they will see that those beekeepers cannot put hives back in this land, neither now nor for a long time," explained the deputy general secretary of UPA Madrid, Mónica Álvaro.
For the moment, an economic assessment of the damages has not been able to be specified, but it has been identified which municipalities concentrate a higher percentage of affected agricultural land: Navas del Rey and Pelayos de la Presa are close to 100%; Colmenar del Arroyo presents around 48%; and San Martín de Valdeiglesias is situated near 45%.
Criticism of restrictions on the use of machinery
The organization has questioned the order from the Ministry of the Interior that temporarily suspends the use of agricultural machinery in the context of the national emergency due to fires, understanding that some of these limitations put "the whole sector in the same bag." They denounce that there is no distinction between high-risk tasks, such as harvesting dry grain at ground level, and other "low-risk" activities, including the pruning of green plants.
According to UPA Madrid, the absolute halt of these tasks can mean the loss of complete harvests, such as those of aromatic plants or alfalfa, which must be collected at very specific times. They have also criticized the rigid scheduling of the regulations and have questioned whether agriculture can remain stopped while other actions in the rural environment are authorized, such as mowing ditches, installing solar parks, or maintaining rail traffic. "We see that this is a discrimination that should not be like this," emphasized the general secretary of UPA Madrid, Jesús Anchuelo.
Call for a political pact and alert for climate change
In light of this scenario, the entity has requested the creation of a "political pact between parties" and that agricultural organizations be incorporated into the design of future restrictions. "A strong, effective, and national political response is required that arises from the advice of expert individuals and also includes agricultural organizations for the development and management of the programs and subsequent implementation," the organization has emphasized.
UPA Madrid has directly linked the intensity and recurrence of these forest fires with the advance of climate change, and has highlighted the work of the nearly 2,000 Madrid farmers and ranchers who manage "62% of the regional territory." The organization insists that a "strong" management of the territory is "key" to limit the impact of the fires.