The Biodiversity Foundation, together with the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) have held a meeting with representatives of the agricultural sector of the Region of Murcia to design a call for aid aimed at farms in the Campo de Cartagena catchment basin, in the Mar Menor area.

The Biodiversity Foundation, together with the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) have held a meeting with representatives of the agricultural sector of the Region of Murcia to design a call for aid aimed at farms in the Campo de Cartagena catchment basin, in the Mar Menor area.

Among the organizations present are: Coordinator of Organizations of Farmers and Ranchers (COAG) Cartagena, Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers (UPA) of Murcia, Agrarian Association of Young Farmers (ASAJA) of Murcia, Association of Producers-Exporters of Fruits and Vegetables of the Region of Murcia (PROEXPORT), Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Murcia (FECOAM), Interprofessional Association of Lemon and Grapefruit (AILIMPO), Campo de Cartagena Irrigation Community and Arco Sur Mar Menor Irrigation Community.

With the meeting, the agricultural sector has been able to expose the needs and opportunities detected when it comes to combining the viability of the cultivation areas with the recovery of the lagoon and the conservation of natural resources.

The context of the initiative is developed within the Framework of Priority Actions for the Mar Menor and the Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy (PEPAC), together with the obligations derived from the specific legislation of the Mar Menor. It is also included in the Plan for the improvement and sustainability of irrigation, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).

The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge will carry out the management of this call, currently in the design phase, which has an endowment of 20 million euros. The publication of the same is scheduled for the end of 2022.

This action seeks to comply with the point on Restoration and environmental improvement in agricultural holdings of the Framework of Priority Actions for the Mar Menor, which sets as objectives the limitation of the impacts of agricultural activities, through the substantial reduction of the use of pesticides and fertilizers, the reduction of irrigation returns and the restoration and environmental improvement of farms.

The aid aims to finance projects compatible with the recovery of the Mar Menor through measures that integrate a change in the practices most harmful to the soil, water resources and biodiversity. Similarly, they should also incorporate actions and/or types of cultivation that are more respectful of biodiversity and with less demand for nutrients and water.

Likewise, the participants in the meeting have agreed on the importance of working in a coordinated way with the agricultural sector and maintaining an open dialogue. During the meeting, the context in which this call must be designed to take into account the environmental obligations derived from the specific legislation for the protection and recovery of the Mar Menor that cannot be subsidized was also recalled, as well as the framework that the new Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its environmental measures will provide.

Among other considerations, the attendees have proposed numerous measures that could be incorporated into the call and thus contribute to the recovery and conservation of the lagoon while guaranteeing the profitability of agricultural activity, which will be studied and assessed for the design of the call.