According to Oleorevista, the Generalitat Valenciana, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition, has approved the first aid for replanting plots affected by Xylella fastidiosa, whose crops have been destroyed in compliance with the measures of control and eradication established by the European Union to stop the spread of the pest.
The grants may reach 100% of the requested eligible investment, ranging from 450 to 6,000 euros per hectare depending on the concept. In this sense, the aid not only covers the plantation, but also extends to preparatory work on the land, irrigation infrastructures, support structures or protection systems against inclement weather such as hail.
The plant species authorized for planting include the olive tree and all plant species not sensitive to the bacteria. The go-ahead for replanting species resistant to the bacteria was one of the novelties brought about by the change in European regulations. A demand that, after being agreed, allowed the buffer area and the eradication radius to be cut in half, thus saving more than 200,000 almond trees.
The opening of a new phase is also supported by the «hopeful» advances in research that is working on a possible solution to the disease. A project headed by the prestigious researcher at the University of Alicante, Francis Mójica, who in his preliminary reports recognizes that, in a first approximation, «the incorporation of a vaccination or cure factor (such as the active molecules identified) would allow to improve the measures eradication of the bacterium ».
According to the data extracted from the new report on the pest, they indicate a slight increase in the affected area of 0.26%, which maintains the decrease in the rate of expansion; 350 hectares that correspond to the 584 positives detected in this fourteenth update and the radius of 50 meters around them.
Most of the positives are almond trees, although there are nine host species in the Region, specifically Asparagus acutifolius (mountain asparagus) with only one case detected.
The new aid thus adds to the battery of actions that since 2018 has allocated 25.1 million euros to fight against Xylella. Of the global calculation, 16.1 million euros correspond to the Ministry (64%), followed by the Ministry and European funds.