Portal de Murcia
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This new ecological procedure is launched, a pioneer in the municipality of Murcia, for which a hundred farmers from different districts have already been interested.
Today 1 ton of branches - equivalent to a tahúlla - has been crushed, coming from the orchards around Rincón de Seca, thanks to the agreement between the City Council and ASAJA.
The mayor of Murcia, José Ballesta, together with the Councilor for Sustainable Development and Huerta, Antonio Navarro, and the General Secretary of the Agricultural Association of Young Farmers of the Region of Murcia, Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca, attended today the first crushing of the remains of pruning from the orchards of Murcian farmers;
an action aimed at promoting sustainable rural development and reducing agricultural burns, within the Municipal Clean Air strategy and adaptation to climate change.
Thus, this new ecological procedure is launched, a pioneer in the municipality of Murcia, for which a hundred farmers from different districts have already been interested, and which consists of a tractor and a crusher that move to the different plots of the garden to crush the remains of pruning.
On the one hand, agricultural burns are avoided and, on the other, crushed branches generate a compost that gives the earth a new life, which retains soil moisture and improves its fertility.
In total, today 1 ton of branches -equivalent to a tahúlla- of citrus fruits (lemon and orange), olive, peach trees, plums, etc., from the orchards of the farmers around Rincón de Seca, has been crushed, thanks to the agreement between the City Council and ASAJA.
The travel calendar to other plots of the Huerta de Murcia is currently being planned, to develop new actions, which will increase considerably from spring, when the citrus pruning season begins.
“The huertanos are the first ecologists.
They are and have been for centuries the guarantors of this historical, cultural and natural legacy that is the Huerta de Murcia, around which generations and generations of Murcia have made their lives, â€said José Ballesta, who added that“ La Huerta y el The urban center of Murcia intermingles creating a unique ecological singularity, a singularity that we will continue to defend with a future project for a sustainable garden capable of facing tomorrow's challenges â€.
Mitigate the effects of climate change
This initiative makes it easier for small farmers to crush the pruning remains instead of burning them, thus reducing the climatic impacts caused by the burning of pruning remains and replacing the current practices with more sustainable and beneficial ones for the climate.
The Murcia orchard is characterized by small farms and for its owners it is not economically viable to purchase machinery and various tools to manage their exploitation.
The environmental benefits of pruning crushing, instead of burning stubble, consist of a decrease in air pollution, a decrease in the contribution of CO2 to the atmosphere and the greenhouse effect, an improvement in soil fertility, an increase in the capacity of water retention in the soil, soil organic matter and landscape conservation and the erosion and desertification decrease.
The City Council assumes the costs of acquiring the pruning and auxiliary crushing machinery, as well as the tractor.
For the 2019 annuity, a contribution of 20,000 euros has been delivered to the association.
Likewise, brochures and informative posters have been published.
To request the crushing of the remains of pruning of orchards, those interested can contact the telephone number 968284188 or through the mail info@asajamurcia.com
Organic farming courses
Within the actions of the City Council with ASAJA, activities will be held to promote environmental awareness, training and education.
The course of organic farming that will be taught by ASAJA professionals begins next October and will be divided into two parts: a theoretical one at the association's facilities and another practice at El Huertanico.
Informative talks will also be held throughout the year with the farmers about the use of the crusher.
The actions planned under the protocol signed last July are wide and diverse.
Thus, the promotion of the techniques and use of organic farming and the strengthening of the municipal land bank system, as well as the promotion of the crushing techniques of agricultural remains from pruning and reuse are contemplated.
The collaboration between both parties also provides for advisory and training work on environmentally friendly agricultural techniques and uses, as well as the recovery of traditional irrigation networks and the promotion of actions aimed at achieving a development model for the Sustainable Murcia orchard.
The areas of cooperation also reach the awarding of prizes and grants as a stimulus to good agricultural practices and social awareness of the measures contemplated in the climate change adaptation strategy of the City of Murcia.
Currently, farmers in the municipality can only carry out agricultural burns from October to May, provided they have a plant health authorization.
In addition, these acts are strictly prohibited in pollution episodes.
For carrying out unauthorized burns, in 2017 74 sanctions files were opened;
in 2018, 110 and in 2019, about 300.
Since 1982 ADEA-ASAJA works as a more representative agricultural professional organization and among its purposes are the representation and defense of the interests of farmers, ranchers and agricultural companies, the training of entrepreneurs, agricultural professionals and their employees, the processing of aid and subsidies , the negotiation of the collective agreement for agricultural, forestry and livestock work, participation in regional and national and European representation tables and forums, legal assistance to its associates and the provision of all necessary services for the socio-economic development of its Associates and the regional agri-food sector.
Source: Ayuntamiento de Murcia
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