up to 15% loss for some market gardeners in the Pyrénées-Orientales

In the greenhouses of Dominique Garcia in Trouillas, it is sometimes up to 50 degrees. “On eggplants, for example, some flowers have dried up and fallen off. And when the flowers don’t fall, some vegetables end up withered and withered.“Tomatoes, courgettes, peppers… The market gardener had to throw away part of his crop, the vegetables having a brown color due to the heat. He estimates his losses at 15 or 20%.

Since the beginning of August, the Pyrénées-Orientales have been placed on heightened alert. This is not the maximum level, so farmers can still irrigate crops within certain constraints. “We have had other hot and dry summersremembers Dominique Garcia, but the difference today is that it’s been going on since June and it still hasn’t rained.“

“We are almost resigned to the idea that we will have our water cut off one day, that we will stop our crops and that we will go to the beach with the tourists in July.”
Dominique Garcia, market gardener

The farmer is worried about the coming summers, and observes the severe restrictions in other departments. He also protests against lack of flexibility in water restrictions related to agriculture. “We are almost resigned to the idea that our water will be cut off one day, that we will stop growing our crops and that we will go to the beach with the tourists in July.”

This Wednesday, Jacques Rouchaussé, the president of Légumes de France, also declared: “The water restrictions that are taken will have to be better adapted“to protect the”French sovereignty and food security“.

A week without water

In Vinça, in Conflent, some farmers were even deprived of water for almost a week, due to a lack of flow in the river which feeds their irrigation canal. This was the case for Eglantine, which has just lost about 15% of its future harvests. “Mainly October production, beets, leeks, kohlrabi and some of my beans.“

Half of the budding plants died. “I also observe deformed vegetables, such as certain courgettes which are hollow and therefore not salable.“

“We need to be more efficient in storing water.”
Jean Bertrand, from the Chamber of Agriculture 66

In the department, not all farmers have not the same access to water. “There are two categories of resources“, explains Jean Bertrand, from the Territory Water Environment service at the Pyrénées-Orientales Chamber of Agriculture.

“There are sectors that are secured by roadblocks; farmers can mostly continue to water. And in the other sectors, the tributaries of the Têt, the Tech valley, part of the Agly valley, there we are subject to drought and some farmers may have suffered from it. We absolutely have to organize ourselves to be more efficient in terms of water storage and the networking of resources. Otherwise, these are situations that we will experience again.“