More and more regions of the country are facing the torture of the drop, with the lack of water becoming particularly noticeable in recent years and the agricultural sector – in addition to other effects – being threatened by the disappearance of many of the products it produces. Indicatively, producers warn that if the situation continues as it is, it is expected that items such as grapes, olives, citrus fruits and vegetables will gradually become a luxury item or disappear.
No one disputes that the country has a low amount of rainfall, while there is a water deficit, that is, the amounts of water that are pumped out exceed the ability of nature to restore them.
As no one disputes the fact that agricultural production is an industry that requires a significant volume of water in order to proceed with the production of its products.
Now, as experts point out, the situation requires sustainable planning and radical solutions, as the cost of drilling for farmers is unimaginable and combined with the destruction of many crops by drought, it is driving the industry to extinction.
Speaking to “Vima” the professor of Agricultural Economics and director of the Laboratory of Agricultural Economics and Consumer Behavior of the University of Thessaly George Vlontzos points out first of all that there is a huge variation in the adequacy of water resources between Northern and Southern Greece, with the greatest deficit being observed in the Peloponnese, the Aegean islands and Crete.
The danger of boiling
As far as the risks for specific crops are concerned, the professor of the University of Thessaly states that “the issue is not only the sufficiency of the water, but also the quality characteristics – especially in the coastal areas – where the salinization phenomenon occurs to an ever greater extent. A phenomenon that has greatly intensified with the intrusion of seawater on land”.
Simply put, fresh water acts as a sort of barrier to marine life. So, when its level drops significantly, seawater penetrates inland, as this dam “falls” and reverses the natural hydraulic gradient towards the sea. The problem is not new, but it has been getting worse in recent years.
“Because of the scarcity of water, a significant issue has arisen in crops that require significant amounts of water, but not only in them. For example, in Corinth the apricot is in danger of disappearing, while the cultivation of the raisin is also at risk.
At the same time, there is a serious problem with citrus fruits, but also with olive cultivation in some areas, even though the olive is one of the most resistant species against drought and the use of brackish water. Despite all this, however, without the existence of sufficient water resources, problems arise, especially for edible table olives, which also have very high quality standards” Giorgos Vlontzos points out.
“Bell” and for olive oil
Equally worrying are the figures cited by the president of the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (ETHEAS) Myron Chiletzakiswho notes that the danger is no longer lurking but has begun: “The first product that is threatened with degradation due to water scarcity is olive oil. Crete has a serious problem, as does the Peloponnese, with the olives being extremely dehydrated. The second crop is the vines, whether they are called wine or table grapes. The quantities are half because the vine could not cope with the drought, while the horticultural crops follow, but also peaches, oranges and kiwis, whose production this year was literally by the dropper”.
“Everything is at risk from the lack of water, from cotton and horticulture to wheat” emphatically notes the president of the Agricultural Associations, Palamas Karditsa Kostas Tzelasunderlining that unfortunately the situation is now dramatic and difficult to reverse.
The potato of Naxos
In the meantime, the farmers of Naxos are also sending out a warning signal, as the lack of water and infrastructure have irreparably damaged the island’s fine PDO potato, with producers unable to proceed with autumn sowing. The numbers are revealing of the shrinking of its crop, as two years ago Naxos harvested 6,000 tons of potatoes. One year later, in 2023, the quantity was reduced to 4,000 tons, while this year the production touched only 1,800 tons.
Further north, in the once-frozen Nevrokopi, water shortages and a prolonged and unprecedented heat wave for the region are taking a toll on potato and bean crops, with farmers in despair and production drying up. In fact, according to them, irrigation costs have skyrocketed since the dam in the area has dried up.
The cost of drilling
The president of Palamas Karditsa Agricultural Associations Kostas Tzellas characterizes the cost of drilling as unbearable, who points out that the biggest problem is recorded today in Eastern Thessaly, part of which is irrigated by surface water and another part by drilling. There the drillings now reach 200-300 meters and are constantly going down further.
“If there is no water table, such as rivers, lakes, we are forced to go to greater depths. Right now, end of summer, the boreholes we have at 60-100 meters are producing less water and if this continues, obviously in two to three years they will not produce anything. We will need to go much deeper, which is difficult for a farmer to do, so there will be no water.” describes.
Based on these data, in order for someone to drill a 40-50 meter well, 10,000-12,000 euros are required and the payback – if water is found, of course – will come over a five-year horizon for 50 acres. At the same time, for a drilling of more than 200 meters, the cost rises to 30,000 euros.
Meanwhile, the data on the number of wells in Thessaly are particularly discouraging, as, according to the EAGME record, they reach 21,894. Of these, 8,411 are in the Larissa Regional Unit, 6,312 in Karditsa, 2,799 in Trikala, 2,594 in Magnesia, while the rest are in neighboring areas, belonging to the same water department. As recorded, on average, groundwater withdrawals from Thessaly amount to approximately 990 million cubic meters of water per year.
For his part, Professor Vlontzos states that “Individual drilling was essentially the result of the lack of government intervention. That is, the state either at the district level or at the central administration level in certain areas has left the producers and turned a blind eye to them drilling themselves.”
Waters we weren’t supposed to touch
This, as he points out, is also a… very expensive sport because the depths keep increasing. “We are talking about depths of more than 300 meters, which in no case can be documented as legal. Essentially, the producers in their desperation to maintain the agricultural holdings went into such deep waters, which from a purely environmental point of view they should not have touched, they are waters which cannot be replenished” clarifies.
A characteristic of the difficult situation with drilling, according to the president of ETHEAS Myron Chiletzakis, is the fact that many municipalities throughout the country have proceeded to withdraw drilling because the water levels have dropped: “If this continues we will see the phenomenon of Andalusia that for 36 months did not rain and the heavy industry in olive oil with two million tons of production disappeared within two years, leading to this increase in prices that we saw last year.”
“We shouldn’t sweep the problem under the carpet” concludes Giorgos Vlontzos, emphasizing that the solution should concern securing new, non-conventional sources of water, such as desalination of seawater or reuse of wastewater mainly for agriculture, as 70% of fresh water reserves are consumed for crop irrigation. At the same time, however, as he typically mentions, bold decisions are required, as well “European funds will not save us”.
There they irrigate drop by drop, here we “flood” fields
The example of Israel
“Greek agriculture is paying the result of too many years of inactivity. Serious measures and projects for irrigation have been taking place in Greece for many decades and we are also technologically quite behind” points out Mr. Vlontzos. In this context, he brings as an example the moves that have been made in Israel to deal with the lack of water in the agricultural sector: “It has essentially reduced drip irrigation to a unique option, while here in Greece, unfortunately, there are still several areas that irrigate by tilting, that is, they leave the water on one side of the field and wait for it to come out on the other. Now, these are means and ways that cannot continue».
It is noted that drip irrigation is characterized as the form of irrigation of the future. It is suitable for precision systems and is based on irrigating the plant, tree, etc., and not just irrigating the soil. The water is transported to the field by pipes and each plant on the line is supplied in the form of drops. At the same time, its use entails reduced costs and a reduction in water wastage, which in relation to other irrigation methods reaches up to 70%.
According to Costas Zellas, governments have been inactive for 30 years. They didn’t do closed circuits, they didn’t do drip irrigation, they didn’t do the work of Achelous that could have already helped. Now, as he says, the cost is high:For example, for drip irrigation if the pipes are not self-regulating it is around 100 euros per hectare, while if they are self-regulating it goes to 150 euros. But this is today. When we have been asking them for 20 years for this to be done so that water is not lost and at the same time the production costs for the farmer are lower, nothing was done. We arrive now and say from here on what to do, that there will be no people and only farmers of more than 20,000 acres who will impose it».
Coordination: Angelos Skordas
Written by: George Fokianos
Editor: Panagiotis Sotiris
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