Six Marina Alta towns risk depopulation as 50% of farms disappear

Six Marina Alta towns are at risj of depopulation according to research carried out by Unió de Llauradors and released this week July 7, among those six in the Marina Alta.

The municipalities that are at risk are those in the most western reaches of the Marina Alta. Five of these Vall d’Ebo, La Vall d’Alcalà, Castell de Castells, La Vall de Gallinera and La Vall de Laguar are all up in the hills making them less accessible.

The municipalities are all relatively small and all suffer from the lack of facilities with the exception of bars and restaurants.

The surprise on the list is Sagra in the Orba Valley literally five minutes from the nearest shopping centre and only 15 minutes from the coast.

According to the 2020 census, these areas jointly lost more than 50 per cent of their farms, falling from 1,176 to just under 550. Marina Alta is the worst affected region in the Valencian Community which has lost more than 12,000 farms over the last two decades.

Carles Peris, General Secretary of Unió, said that too little has been done by successive governments to deal with the loss of farms and population adding that: “Farmer steps must be taken because current policies are not serving to prevent the loss of farms and agricultural land for an activity that is key to avoid depopulation.”

He continued by saying that Unió would like to see the regional government intervene to provide more direct support to those producing low-profit rain-fed crops like nuts and olive oil. They would also like to see tax incentives being offered to keep people and businesses in these areas.

The Valencian Community has implemented a number of programmes of late to try and stem the depopulation of areas, however, the research suggests that more needs to be done in Marina Alta and elsewhere.

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