Spain (A Limia): Rains threaten potato and grain crops again

Farmers in A Limia can’t stop looking at the sky. They need a respite of several days without rain to be able to plant their potatoes. In the last four or five years, weather conditions haven’t allowed them to do so within the ideal timeframe. For example, in 2024, potato production of the "agria" variety, the most planted in this area, was 30,000 kilos per hectare, compared to an average of 50,000 kilos. The solution could be to grow crops in the higher areas of the region, such as Baltar, Calvos de Randín, and Os Blancos, but "there are no large plots there, no irrigation; it would be a new world," notes Servando Álvarez, an Inorde technician.

The rains of Easter and now the rains of these days put a stop to planting, and if the rains continue like this, "we’re going to sow late and there will be a reduction in production," laments Álvarez, who points out that the desired amount of winter cereals couldn’t be planted, and the spring cereals sown before Easter "are not in good condition due to the rains; we’ll have to consider resowing again, and in summer they wouldn’t be able to complete the cycles."

Potato crops are also at risk of not being able to be planted on time, but so are the seeds already in storage. They were expensive, perishable, and lost their vegetative capacity for reproduction.

The technician points out that the ideal situation would be for the market to evolve and seek out seeds with shorter cycles. Natural selection "would be a slow process."