The general secretary of the Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers of Castilla-La Mancha, Julián Morcillo, has warned that the new water planning process constitutes "a direct and unprecedented attack on the territorial balance and economic sustainability of the region".
For this reason, he has called for unity of action and has asked all parties involved to articulate a common strategy and a solid alternative, based on rigorous knowledge of available resources, fair distribution, and concrete proposals that avoid the "abandonment" of rural areas.
"We need to defend ourselves as a region, we are not going to allow short-sighted policies. What is coming is very tough and requires putting a stop to the extinction of rights and the drastic reduction of our irrigation areas," Morcillo has argued.
The leader of the agricultural organization has described the proposal for the Guadiana basin as an "assault" against an area that accounts for one-third of the community's population.
With 340,000 hectares of irrigated land, which represent 58% of all irrigated land in Castilla-La Mancha, the plan "aims to condemn 34% of these lands to dry farming".
Therefore, he has warned that the economic consequences would be "terrible": 213 million euros less annually in production value, a cut in net margin of 82 million, and a direct loss of assets for farmers of 1.5 billion euros due to the devaluation of their farms from irrigated to dry land.
Criticism of cuts in Júcar and rule changes
Regarding the Júcar basin, Morcillo has branded the breach of the political agreement set in the 1998 plan as an "assault and a mockery"; a change that, as he recalled, had previously led to the largest demonstration in defense of water held in Albacete.
From UPA, they consider it incomprehensible that a renewable resource like the Mancha Oriental aquifer sees its allocation reduced from 398 to 226 cubic hectometers. The document also contemplates a cut in the substitution of pumping, which would go from 107.5 to 80 cubic hectometers.
In this context, Morcillo has censured the words of the president of the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation, Miguel Polo, who maintained that the region would come out well if the distribution were done by inhabitants.
"It is an insult to intelligence that they told us that in Albacete. Where does that say that in the planning rule?", he denounced, underlining that the region generates 860 cubic hectometers of its own resources.
At the same time, he has called for the territorial scope of the demarcation to be addressed immediately, rejecting that the accounts of the Valencian intracommunal basins within the Júcar continue to be "provisionally pending".
Morcillo has defended that the 630 hm destined for Valencia, Sagunto, Marina Baja or Vinalopó, together with La Albufera and the 163 hm linked to its artificial lagoon, must be managed directly by the Valencian Community through options such as desalination, without negatively impacting the donor basin.
Segura: less water and strong economic impact
Finally, regarding the Segura basin, he pointed out that the same scheme of discrimination is repeated, since "while they seek to re-supply irrigation in Levante and grant rights to new hectares in that area, current Castilian-Manchegan consumption will be reduced from 100.9 to barely 33.2 cubic hectometers".
Morcillo concludes by warning that this adjustment will entail a reduction in the gross value of production of 100 million euros and a capital loss calculated at 626 million euros, "a totally unviable alternative".