Tuesday, August 6, 2024, 00:29
The melon campaign in Campo de Cartagena has come to an early end. The rains in May and June and the excessive heat of recent weeks, together with low prices due to the good quality in other producing areas of Spain, have led farmers to abandon dozens of hectares. This is visible in several areas of the municipality, such as El Algar, Santa Ana and Los Belones, mainly. It is also seen in neighbouring municipalities, such as Fuente Álamo and Los Alcázares, where the image is devastating in some cases: thousands of unharvested melons in an advanced state of decomposition.
Prices started out very high as Campo de Cartagena was one of the first to bring this product to market, but as the campaign progressed, the cost per kilo fell through the floor, so much so that they no longer even cover production costs. For this reason, this year a large part of the approximately 6,000 hectares that were planted have remained in the bush.
-
6.000
hectares of melon production are in Campo de Cartagena this campaign. -
148,000
tons have been collected in the Region of Murcia, most of them in Campo de Cartagena.
The Campo de Cartagena is the main producer in the Region of Murcia, where the Amarillo, Galia, Cantalupo and Piel de Sapo melon varieties are produced. Among the main destinations is Germany, with 46 million euros in sales, followed by France, with 42 million, and the Netherlands, with sales exceeding 21 million euros, according to data from the Ministry of Water, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. 148,000 tonnes have already been harvested.
«The campaign has been very complicated. During June and July, the weather in Europe was rainy and cool and consumption was very low. To this we must add that in the last 15 days they have started to harvest in Castilla La Mancha and those here no longer want them, that is why the harvesting has stopped and the plantations are being abandoned», explained to LA VERDAD Santiago Pérez, a farmer who is also the spokesperson for the Association in defense of water resources in Campo de Cartagena. This position is also supported by the president of the Coordinating Organization of Farmers and Ranchers in Campo de Cartagena, COAG Cartagena, Vicente Carrión.
Uncollected
In his opinion, high temperatures have had a lot to do with the fact that farmers have left part of their production unharvested. “In the recipient countries, temperatures were rather low and there was not much consumption; that lowered prices with a supply that was also large,” he said.
In Campo de Cartagena, 96% of the melon surface is in the open air, and the remaining 4% is under greenhouses. The smooth-skinned melon group occupies 55% of the surface, followed by 25% of other melons, 18% of Cantaloupe and 2% of Tendral, according to the same sources. One hectare of melons needs approximately 2,000 to 2,500 cubic metres of water (two million to two and a half million litres). This is what has sparked criticism from certain sectors, who complain that there has been such a high expenditure of water resources and that now the production remains in the soil.
There has also been criticism from neighbours in neighbouring villages about the abandoned plantations. They complain that they suffer from bad smells and plagues of flies and mosquitoes. The Coordinator of Farmers and Ranchers Organisations (COAG) of the Cartagena countryside explains that leaving the plantations in this state is what the legislation establishes. This determines that at certain times of the year it is permitted to accumulate plant remains for livestock use.
Removal of debris
And this is precisely what the farmers are doing. However, once this period has elapsed, all the remains must be removed. This is what they have already done in some areas of the municipality, such as in Los Belones, where the melon fields that once covered much of the land no longer exist; they have been ploughed.
Complaints from neighbors about odors and a plague of flies and mosquitoes
The abandonment of dozens of melon fields by farmers in Campo de Cartagena due to low prices is not only causing losses of thousands of euros to the sector, but has also sparked complaints from residents of several districts of the municipality. The Santa Ana residential estate, Santa Ana village, El Algar and Los Belones, among others, are the main areas affected by the strong smells and a plague of mosquitoes coming from plots where the fruit is rotting without anyone doing anything about it.
These are farms located just a few metres from the houses, which are overwhelmed by the presence of thousands of insects. The president of the Santa Ana Residential Residents’ Association, Pedro Luis Ros, explained to LA VERDAD that he has received many complaints from neighbours, because a plague of flies and mosquitoes is invading terraces and even the interior of the houses, something that makes their lives difficult. Not even the methods used by the residents to get rid of the insects are capable of freeing them from this discomfort.
The neighbours have reported the problem to the Town Hall, the Department of Health and the Seprona, but so far they have not received a response. They complain that the melon waste left in the field to be used later as fertiliser is left in the sun for weeks, something that they believe has caused the plague. The neighbours say that they do not mind having melons planted next to their house, but they do mind having them left to rot in the sun and causing a situation that they consider to be “unhealthy”.
This situation has also been experienced in other areas of the municipality, especially in El Algar. In this case, the problem has already subsided “because the farmers have already plowed the fields, but it is a situation that occurs every year,” explained the president of the Residents’ Association of this town, Pedro García.
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