These unusually low temperatures for the season have impacted the flowering and budding of plants at a critical stage of their vegetative cycle. Damages have been concentrated in approximately 1,200 hectares of cultivated land, with the regions of Vall d'Albaida, Costera, and Ribera Alta being the most severely affected.
The most damaged crops include persimmons, summer fruit trees such as apricot, peach, and plum, as well as almond trees. The nights of March 28th to 30th were particularly devastating, with temperatures that will significantly impact the future harvest.
This type of adverse weather event, unfortunately increasingly frequent outside the usual calendar, highlights the need to adapt agricultural policies and risk coverage instruments within the current agricultural insurance system.
La Unió Llauradora has emphasized that these meteorological phenomena are covered by the current agricultural insurance system. Therefore, the organization will request Agroseguro to expedite the assessments of affected plots so that farmers can receive their corresponding indemnities as quickly as possible.
Furthermore, the organization will appeal to the Generalitat Valenciana for direct aid for those affected. Among the requested measures are the remission of the IBI (Property Tax) for cultivated plots and associated constructions, a 50% bonus on Social Security contributions for self-employed farmers, with the remaining 50% deferred for twelve months, a reduction in the net yield index for IRPF (Personal Income Tax), and the establishment of preferential credit lines.
