2023-05-10 07:14:56
Photo by ERA
There were twenty-six people arrested for mining illegal wells for growing tropical fruits such as avocados and mangoes in Southern Spain against the background of a prolonged drought, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
During a four-year investigation, authorities have uncovered more than 250 illegal wells, boreholes and ponds in the Axarquia region of Andalusia, which has been suffering from a drought since 2021.
Spain is the largest European producer of tropical fruits, which require large amounts of water. Fruit growers estimate that avocado production will drop by 25 percent this year due to high temperatures and lack of water.
The suspects are being investigated for misappropriating public water and allegedly fraudulently using water to irrigate subtropical crops, police said.
Spain recorded its driest and warmest April on record, according to national weather agency AEMET. The average water level in reservoirs in Catalonia and Andalusia – the most affected areas – is around 25 percent.
In Catalonia, in northeastern Spain, farmers staged a slow protest with their tractors in several towns today, demanding help from the government to deal with the impact of the drought.
Farmer Josep Andreu Cortina, 35, said he expects only about 2 percent of his produce to be salable this year due to water shortages. The authorities “are not taking measures to help the sector cope with the drought,” he said during a protest in the city of Leida, west of Barcelona.
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