The Generalitat has communicated the detection of a new outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa in the Community. And they are already with this 13. On this occasion, affecting the entire Marina Alta and in an almost exceptional way, since it has been concentrated in all the municipalities of the region and there have been few cases outside of it.
For this reason, the Ministry of Agriculture has urgently adopted phytosanitary measures to eradicate the pest and prevent its spread.
Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterium that causes economic damage, especially attacking almond trees in the case of Dénia and the Marina Alta. However, it has also been detected in the capital in a Cape milkmaid or polygal.
To date, no remedy is known to treat this bacterium, so according to the measures to prevent the expansion of Xylella, those affected plants must be destroyed in the place within a maximum period of 15 days after the detection and publication of the resolution, and the planting of species of the genus Polygala in certain nearby spaces is prohibited, recommending the elimination of those not affected and close to the space where it has been detected. This represents a severe economic blow to the farmers who market these types of trees and their fruits.
"While we must exercise caution on an issue that has dramatic consequences for affected farmers, the latest available data reveals that the measures we are taking point in the right direction and are slowing the rate of spread of the pest", declared yesterday the Minister of Agriculture, Mireia Mollà.
However, the councilor has called for caution "because we are talking about bacteria and, of course, we are not going to lower our guard, since we are aware of the danger it entails".
Compensation
During a meeting with representatives of the agricultural sector, reference was also made to the line of compensatory aid authorized by the Ministry in 2018 to compensate those affected by the measures to start and destroy the trees. During these last three years, 205 applications have been resolved favorably while another 28 are still in the processing phase. The 205 approved applications entail the award of more than 465.000 euros in compensation.
For this year, and including both the Generalitat's own funds as well as those from the European Union and the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department plans to allocate 6,9 million euros to deal with Xylella fastidiosa in the Valencian Community.
