The Association of Ecological Agricultural Production of Mallorca (Apaema) acknowledges progress in the project of the new agrarian law, but demands greater soil protection and support for the island’s ecological farms.
To protect the countryside, Apaema believes its lands must remain cultivable and its farms able to be maintained stably. The Association of Ecological Agricultural Production of Mallorca has made this challenge clear in the debate over the Balearic Islands’ new agrarian law: it acknowledges improvements, though it regards them as wholly insufficient and calls for essential guarantees.
Understanding its demands helps assess how the forthcoming regulation could influence those who produce ecological, locally sourced foods and preserve Mallorca’s land. The link between farm profitability, unflinching support for ecological agriculture, and recognition of farmers’ environmental work is at stake.
This article analyzes the advances that Apaema values and the demands considered insufficient in the new agrarian law that remains for parliamentary processing. Through this comparison, it identifies where the Association of Ecological Agricultural Production of Mallorca places its priorities so that the planned improvements translate into lasting protection for Mallorca’s countryside.
Ecological Agricultural Production of Mallorca ‘Expectant’ About the New Agrarian Law
The Association of Ecological Agricultural Production of Mallorca (Apaema) has called this Saturday for more guarantees for ecological production in the Agrarian Law that is under processing, improvements in the protection of agricultural soil, and the remuneration for the environmental services provided by the ‘pagesia’.
Regarding the protection of rustic soil, Apaema considers that the Government’s Agrarian Law improves the current situation, though it falls short of the association’s demands.
The project requires that certain new housing developments include an agrarian counterpart for at least 15 years, such as keeping lands in production or placing them at the disposal of farmers, but Apaema calls in a statement to guarantee that any loss of agricultural land is compensated by bringing into cultivation an equivalent area.
The entity acknowledges that the agrarian law project approved by the Government Council on September 25 includes several of its demands, clearly insufficient, but considers necessary «clearer guarantees so that the improvement in farm profitability is accompanied by effective protection of agricultural land and decisive support for ecological production.»
Apaema advocates recognition of the specific strategic character of ecological production, the requirement that products purchased as ecological in public procurement are also locally produced, and explicit guarantee of the exclusive competence of the Balearic Council for Ecological Agricultural Production in controlling ecological production.
Profitable Farms in the Balearics
The association argues that the goal of making farms profitable «must be based on producing food, processing and marketing the products, and recognizing the environmental services provided by the ‘pagesia’,» hence it calls for a cap on income from supplementary activities and that these should not exceed 30% of total income or revenue.
Apaema welcomes progress for small operations such as limiting to a maximum of six agro-tourism units per farm, instead of the initially planned ten; explicit reference to collective processing facilities for small Mallorcan farms, and the mandate to promote hygienic-sanitary flexibility measures for small-scale productions, always with public health guarantees, as well as caution and limits on genetically modified crops.
The entity values the provisions on the use, exchange, and sale of seeds of local varieties, as well as the promotion of crop rotations, cover crops, pollinator protection, and soil fertility.
In energy matters, the text of the new agrarian law limits the use of ground-based self-consumption installations to half a hectare and to 5% of the base territorial area of each farm.
These measures «can effectively help reduce costs, diversify production, and add greater value to the foods produced on the farms,» but Apaema warns that some will require further development to translate into real facilities for producers.
Another demand that is left out is the allocation of 50% of the annual revenue from the Sustainable Tourism Tax to remunerate the environmental services provided by the payeses. Apaema stresses that conserving the soil, landscape, and biodiversity «must have a stable economic return for the farms that undertake this work.»
Apaema asks that parliamentary processing incorporate the guarantees it proposes to ensure that the agricultural sector is viable, ecological production with effective support, and lasting protection of agricultural land.
