Luisa Miralles: "The Government is letting the farmers down"

Carmen Calvo "Revolving doors? Me? I put my hand on the fire and on the ceramic hob. No" Cuca Gamarra "I was always the last to leave parties" There is a whole history of 19th century entrepreneurship behind the orange that you grow. Yes, Eduardo Llópis Pascual, who was my grandfather's father, was the one who at the beginning of the 19th century planted in these lands the first orange tree of the

Carmen Calvo "Revolving doors? Me? I put my hand on the fire and on the ceramic hob. No"
Cuca Gamarra "I was always the last to leave parties"

There is a whole history of 19th century entrepreneurship behind the orange that you grow. Yes, Eduardo Llópis Pascual, who was my grandfather's father, was the one who at the beginning of the 19th century planted in these lands the first orange tree of the navel variety that had been brought from California.

From there our families have cultivated orange trees until they reach us.

We are the fourth generation and we also grow navelina, lane late, powel, valencia, clementina, hernandina or clemenpons. And then we go to the supermarket and simplify ordering oranges and we are satisfied. Well, people who don't know it don't have to knowing it, although it would not hurt because they have different characteristics and mature at different times of the year.

Knowing this would allow us to buy better and more sustainably.

You belong to a generation of people who preferred to study for a degree rather than dedicate themselves to the field.

Is it so hard? The field is not easy, you have to like it, it requires a lot of effort and dedication that is sometimes not appreciated;

you are from sunrise to sunset watching him, the adversities of the weather that in most cases are beyond our control.

In these delicate moments we are making a great effort that we hope will be rewarded. Why did you decide to live in the countryside? I have always known the orange groves, I grew up among orange trees as Blasco Ibáñez said and I am very happy to be farmer and proud to belong to generations of farmers.

When I finished my studies I dedicated myself to the family business, my mother was a very important reference in making that decision.

She has dedicated part of her life to this.

And although she sounds bucolic, she wanted to continue enjoying the great privilege that we have.

The environment, maintaining the family heritage, enjoying the water from the well, the pools of crystal clear water that irrigate the orange trees... It is a paradise. A paradise that can become hell.

How many hectares do you cultivate? How much do you get paid for an arroba of oranges? At the moment we are cultivating 21 hectares and I prefer not to say how much they have paid us for oranges because each year the prices are different and this year has been ridiculous.

As to whether it can become a hell, an information has come out today about a family that has burned their last field.

enjoy the water from the well, the pools of crystal clear water that irrigate the orange trees... It is a paradise. A paradise that can become hell.

As to whether it can become a hell, an information has come out today about a family that has burned their last field.

enjoy the water from the well, the pools of crystal clear water that irrigate the orange trees... It is a paradise. A paradise that can become hell.

As to whether it can become a hell, an information has come out today about a family that has burned their last field.

(He shows me the link to a news story in which the son of a farmer tells how his father has decided to burn his last orange grove, with which the memories of four generations went away. And he denounces that they have been paid 20 cents per kilo when in the supermarket they exceed the euro)

We have looked for other forms of sale, online, to defend our product and we are very grateful for the trust of the people who stay with us. Where are the profits, who is to blame?

What should the Spanish and Valencian governments do to reverse the situation? I don't know who gets the benefits and in what proportion.

I know he is not the farmer.

Probably the culprits are the central and Valencian governments that must take the corresponding measures to resolve this situation.

Regulating the entry of the product from abroad in a way that benefits us.

I still do not understand how it is possible that priority is given to oranges that do not meet the strict phytosanitary conditions that are required of us.

And controlling prices and opening new markets.

And spending money on research.

They have the obligation and the responsibility to solve the dire situation of our countryside, which is everyone's food.

What would big cities be without farmers?

Think about it just a little bit.

Why do we have to consume worse peppers or tomatoes from other parts of the world if we have them here?

Our oranges are the best in the world and our fields must be taken care of. Are large surfaces responsible? I don't know for sure but we suspect that they are as responsible as the Government. I have read that 80% of the land in Valencia is abandoned .

It is devastating. In our area they have not yet been abandoned, but we have heard that they say that if the coming campaign is like this, they will be abandoned.

In other areas of Valencia and Alicante, they already are.

It is that there are places where this year the orange has remained on the trees because they did not want to pay anything for them.

Places where farmers spend 30 euros per hour on water, 300 euros every fortnight on fertilizer, electricity, labor, which is very expensive if you can find it.

They lose money.

All this makes me very sad. The consequences? I can't imagine them.

But it is the end of a way of life, a culture, but also a way of subsistence and there are already cities, once prosperous, now in ruins.

What do we see without agriculture in our fields?

Poorly cared for land, dry trees, a desolate landscape.

What are tourists going to see here?

They will think, 'how useless they are in this country that has everything and doesn't know how to take advantage of it'.

They are letting us fall and it gives the impression that the Government wants agriculture to end in Spain.

It seems to me that agriculture has always been used as a bargaining chip when negotiating in Europe or with third parties, in exchange for electricity, or whatever. Is abandoning the land for tourism progress or blindness? I see it as a great blindness.

We are going to fight with all our strength to ensure that our fields move forward.

I would like to appeal to the government.

Please spend time and effort to solve this important problem.

And also the citizens.

We want to eat from our lands.

We have a rich and wonderful country that we have an obligation to care for and cultivate. Do you feel disrespected? It's obvious.

The farmers, who work so hard and how little they appreciate it.

My husband and I are proud to be farmers and I believe that all farmers deserve great respect for our decent work.

If you stop to think about it, we are the sustenance of humanity.

Today we have studies and we are prepared to continue with the work of our ancestors.

The countryside, agriculture are a pleasure, but feeling it a lot, the situation becomes unsustainable. Would you like your children to dedicate themselves to the land? Hopefully.

If things went well and, although they are going to do what they want, I wouldn't mind if they carried out studies that would later be used for agriculture.