During the postwar period, before the years of the great rural exodus arrived, images of farmers heroically trying to pluck fruit from mountainous, dry and inhospitable lands were common. Most of these farms were abandoned in the sixties and … seventies due to their low economic performance and because they used to be terrain that was too steep to drive a tractor into. They were old and hard plots, of macho, tool and saddlebag. Although wild vegetation has been covering these slopes, in La Rioja the traces of this centuries-old activity are still visible: just look at the terraces that break the mountain into a succession of vacant terraces. They are archaeological vestiges of a past that is not as remote as it seems and that has not yet completely disappeared.
There are farmers and ranchers who persevere in the exploitation of lands that are less fertile and much less easy to master than those in the valley. The CAP Strategic Plan, approved by the European Commission on August 31, 2022, includes compensation to compensate for the difficulties of activity in mountain areas. As approved by the Government Council last May, 423 Riojan professionals can receive this aid, aimed at alleviating “the inconveniences of working in such a complex natural environment.” These European subsidies aim to avoid, as far as possible, “the abandonment of activity in disadvantaged mountain lands, with its negative consequences for the adequate maintenance of the rural environment and the environment.” The aid consists of an annual payment per compensable hectare located in high mountain municipalities. To define ‘high mountains’, criteria of altitude and slope are used. In general, the minimum altitude must be 600 meters and the slope must exceed 15%. In the towns located in the mountains, the percentage of inclination is reduced to 12%.
«The mountain areas of La Rioja present adverse structural conditions that lead to low profitability of farms and lower soil productivity»
In the autonomous community of La Rioja there are 72 municipalities with plots that meet these requirements: 26 in La Rioja Alta, 18 in La Rioja Baja and the remaining 28 in the middle zone, where all the towns of the Cameros are located. The two justifications that explain this support are, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, “the existence, due to the altitude, of harsh climatic conditions that significantly reduce the vegetative period” and the impossibility, in plots with very steep slopes, of the use of machinery or the use “of very expensive special equipment.” “The mountain areas of La Rioja present adverse structural conditions of climate, topography, difficult access, etc., which, in general, lead to low profitability of farms and lower soil productivity,” he concludes.
423
people
They can receive compensatory compensation from the CAP for working in mountain areas in La Rioja. 209 of them are farmers, 163 have livestock and 51 declare pastures and crops.
795,926
euros
is the total amount of compensatory compensation included in the CAP Strategic Plan for 2023.
51,884.59
hectares
are covered by this aid. Most of the land is dedicated to pasture (44,367), although there are 7,517.59 hectares under cultivation.
3,384.12
hectares
They are planted with cereal. There are also nuts (1,107.27), crops for industry (614.49) and even vineyards (551.67).
In most cases (85%), these lands are used for pasture; However, there are 260 people who declare crops in such unfavorable areas. Almost half of the mountain lands that receive compensatory aid from the CAP are cereal crops (3,384.12 hectares), although there are also nut plantations (1,107.27), fodder (357.46) and industrial crops (614. 49). Likewise, there are some vines (551.67), olive trees (167.54) and 42 hectares of fruit trees.
The premium for non-multi-active farmers amounts to 60 euros per hectare, although there is a gradual reduction in direct aid depending on the size of the agricultural holding. In this way, four sections are enabled. Farmers or ranchers with properties of up to 20 hectares receive the full premium, but then the contribution decreases: 40% for those who cultivate between 20 and 60 hectares and 25% for those who own between 60 and 80. Those who cultivate between 60 and 80 hectares do not receive help. They have more than 80 hectares.
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