Hundreds of farmers from Catalonia have travelled to the region’s capital to air their grievances, especially over the climate.
“We’re in a complete drought right now,” says Xavier Oliva, an artichoke farmer who owns land on the city’s outskirts.”If it doesn’t rain, we can’t plant anything.”
Oliva and his colleagues have been protesting against a variety of issues, including the EU’s overly strict agricultural regulations. However the biggest threat to their occupation is water scarcity, and they call for more direct support from local governments.
At the end of January, water levels in the reservoirs of the Tell Llobregat basin system, which supply water to Barcelona and surrounding cities, were on average 16% below their storage capacity.
The Catalan government has declared a state of emergency, affecting approximately 6 million people. This introduced many restrictions on water consumption.
For livestock farmers, this means they can use only half the water they would normally use, and for crop farmers like Mr Oliva, it means he uses 80% less water.
Looking ahead to the coming months, Oliva, a member of the El Prat Agricultural Cooperative, said: “We will be growing 80% less grain than usual or more. This brings us closer and closer to having to close our farms.”
Other measures introduced under the state of emergency include limiting consumption to 200 litres per person per day.
This will be especially reduced in cities with high consumption. In addition, river flows are regulated and flow rates are significantly reduced.
Already last year, several restrictions have been imposed, including the closure of ornamental fountains and strict regulations on the use of water for irrigation of gardens and parks and cleaning streets.
But the new measures are more drastic, including bringing in water by boat from other parts of Spain if the drought persists.