Cereals in Spain, market and prospects

Cereals, found all over the world, are the basis of most diets in every corner of the planet, as they adapt very easily to all types of soil and climate. Their “domestication” and cultivation have been key to the development of different civilizations since about 14,000 years ago, when they began to be planted in the Near East. They are characterized by their morphological structure consisting of a spike or panicle that provides grains or seeds that are used for food, both human and animal, and even for obtaining bioethanol. Since its inception, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has primarily focused on cereals, highlighting measures such as export subsidies, support for private storage or public purchases - at so-called intervention prices -, later with so-called coupled aid and, currently, with aid completely dissociated from production (basic income aid and eco-regimes). Cereals are the first subsector of herbaceous crops in Spain, occupying, as a whole, an average of more ...