Barrachina: "The new rules for the exploitation of the water transfer will turn the orchards of Alicante into a desert"

The Minister of Agriculture, Water, Livestock, and Fisheries, Miguel Barrachina, has denounced the approval of the new rules for the exploitation of the Tajo-Segura water transfer, considering that they have been adopted "without technical support, without real dialogue, and without listening to the irrigators or the affected autonomous communities." Barrachina has warned that these modifications, driven by the Government of Spain, "put at risk the future of thousands of families and the water balance that for decades has allowed southeastern Spain to be an agricultural benchmark. The application of these rules will turn the orchard of Alicante into a desert." The Minister emphasized that decisions of this magnitude "cannot be made unilaterally or based on political criteria, but must be based on rigorous, expert, and transparent reports." In this regard, he recalled that the Tajo-Segura water transfer "is an essential infrastructure for the economic, social, and environmental ...