hectares Archives - usatoday24

more hectares, more kilos and more uncertainty

May 4, 2026 by usatoday24

Extremadura has just started the campaign for one of the crops in which it stands out not only nationally but also internationally. European scale: tobacco. In recent days, the seedlings have begun to leave the nurseries towards the regions where around 98% of all ‘tobacco made in Spain’ production is concentrated. The news is interesting not only because of what it means for regions such as Campo Arañielo, La Vera, Alagón, Talayuela or Navalmoral de la Mata, where tobacco farmers work. This year the sector is grabbing attention also due to the context, marked by two apparently contradictory factors: uncertainty and the increase in both cultivated hectares and contracted merchandise. Is it going to be cultivated more? That’s how it is. Coinciding with the start of the Extremaduran campaign, the National Federation of Tobacco Growers confirmed A few days ago, the Efe Agro agency reported that 6,496 hectares will be planted this year, almost 7% more than last year. The figure is still very far from the cultivated area at the beginning of the last decade, when in Spain the 10,000 hectaresbut maintains the growth trend of recent years. In fact, it exceeds the data from 2022, 2023 and 2024 registered by the Government. While waiting for the final balance of 2025, last year the sector spoke of an area of 6,400 ha throughout the country. The cultivated land is not the only thing that increases. There are signs that also indicate an increase in the amount of tobacco reserved by operators in the sector. The Interprofessional Tobacco Organization of Spain (Oitab) has increased its hiring in Extremadura to 23.69 million kilos, about 723,600 kilos more than in 2025. The public firm Cetarsa will also buy 5% more than last season, which is equivalent to 16.65 million kilos. Additionally, Deltafina will buy 3.62 million and Mella 3.41. Is this good news for the sector? The director of Oitab defends that the increase is “very positive” and recalls that the sector has been growing for five years. However, it is not all good news for Extremaduran farmers, who this campaign will be forced to deal with a scenario marked by uncertainty. The hangover from the Iran war will force them to deal with the rising fuel price and of fertilizersbut above all they are focused on something else: the yield of the harvest. As they explain farmers to The Newspapercultivating more hectares does not necessarily mean that you will earn more money. In fact, 7% more planted area does not guarantee that they will harvest 7% more tobacco. In March Asaja I already warned of the consequences that restrictions on certain phytosanitary products will have. Specifically, the organism critical two measures: the veto of Dichloroprene 1.3 and the restrictions on Metam Sodium. Is it that important? Dionisio Sánchez, manager of the Agrarian Transformation Society (SAT) Asociación Agrupación TAB, the largest producer cooperative, he complained recently in The Newspaper that the sector does not have the same resources as other years to treat the fields, and warned of the consequences of these restrictions: “We do not have means of production.” “Yields are going to decrease, many farmers have put in more hectares to see if they can get the same kilos,” insisted. Added to this factor is another that also explains the increase in cultivated area: the gradual loss of attractiveness of corn has led some farmers to abandon the cereal and switch to tobacco. The group is also not entirely satisfied with the prices of the companies that work with their crops. For example, although Cetarsa will slightly increase the money it pays for each kilo of tobacco, there are those in the sector who believe that it is not enough. Especially since the calculations were made before the war in Iran affected the prices of two key inputs for farmers (both those dedicated to tobacco in Extremadura and the rest): diesel fuel and fertilizer. This change of scenery is probably kept in mind. in junewhen the contracted volumes are reviewed. Is it just agriculture? No. As the sector frequently insists, the tobacco industry has an economic and social dimension that goes beyond the cultivated plots. Fernando Vaquero, director of Oitab, remembers for example that in Extremadura alone there are around 20,000 families that depend on the crop. Last year AFI and the Tobacco Table published a study that estimates that the sector generates 69 million of euros of added value in Extremadura and support some 1,050 direct jobs. How does it affect the population? If the data were not important in itself, there is another factor to take into account: a good part of this economic pulse beats in rural areas, which demonstrates for the sector its value when establishing “productive fabric and local employment.” If the focus is expanded and goes beyond agriculture, AFI calculates that tobacco will leave Extremadura 126 million. To this impact we should add the one it leaves in Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha or Extremadura (where there are also plantations) and the Canary Islands, Cantabria and Madrid, which also benefit from the industry’s production chain. Perhaps to support this activity, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Sustainable Development of Extremadura recently announced that it would allocate five million euros to help Integrated Tobacco Production to 500 farmers. Is everything positive for the sector? No. Even though the cultivated area grows this year in Extremadura, the ministry’s data show that Spain continues to dedicate much less land to the tobacco used in 2014. Production is also clearly lower. It is not something that happens only in our country. The EU recognize that cultivation has been progressively decreasing in recent decades, and in a clear way as well: from 400,000 t at the beginning of the 90s it went to 140,000 t in 2018, a year in which the cultivated area at the community level was around 66,000 ha, half that of 2001. This trend coincides with a clear decrease in tobacco consumption worldwide, largely … Read more

126,000 hectares of almond trees are about to flood a market that does not need them

April 15, 2026 by usatoday24

Tick tock If you go to any Spanish countryside and stay very still, very silent; Immediately, you will start listening to it. Tick tock, tick tock. It’s subtle, I admit. Almost imperceptible if you don’t pay attention. But it is there and no one can deny it: a ticking time bomb within the country’s agribusiness in the form of the 126,000 hectares of almond plantations that are about to come into production. It is the chronicle of an announced crisis. The almond, the fashionable fruit. In 2016, Javier López-Bellidoprofessor at the School of Agricultural Engineers of the University of Castilla – La Mancha, He told me he was worried because “lately, there is no conversation with farmers that does not include the word ‘almond tree’.” And there were good reasons for it; although they can all be summarized in the same way: a hectare of almond trees is twice as profitable as one of oranges. According to experts, it also had a wonderful future: “The demand market for almonds is on the rise throughout the world, so all experts agree that, at least within the next decade, this nut will have a great market outlet, especially abroad,” said Doménec Nàcher by Asaja in El Mundo. However, López Bellido I wasn’t so clear. This trend was going to translate into many farmers going into debt with an eye on the high prices of almond grains and they were going to find a saturated market that was going to suffocate them little by little. And that, word for word, is what is happening. And it’s been 10 years. Today, Spain is the second largest producer in the world almond In fact, the almond tree is already the most extensive woody crop in Spain and only in the last decade has grown 34%. Furthermore, as I said, right now there are 126,000 hectares of almond trees that have not yet matured enough. But they will. The thing is that we have already seen this movie. It is literally the same mechanism that has caused the lemon crisis: first a price-pull effect, then uncontrolled expansion and, later, calm while those trees reach production age. A calm that lasts until the almonds reach a saturated market and everything collapses. We know what is going to happen, but no one is very clear how to stop it. And that is the great drama of the Spanish countryside. One of many, it is true; but an especially bloody one: one that takes advantage of the desperation of farmers and ends up leaving them bankrupt. And of those dusts, these sludge. Image | Mercedes White In Xataka | How the “hen with the golden lemons” has become a trap for the Spanish countryside

Mexico wants to shield the ancient Mayan city of Toniná at all costs. So he has expropriated more than nine hectares

March 6, 2026 by usatoday24

Maybe not as well known as Teotihuacan, Chichen Itza or even the neighbor Palenquebut Toniná It is one of the great archaeological treasures of Mexico. The necropolis experienced its heyday between 600 and 900 AD and today it is preserved as one of the most fascinating complexes of the Mayan area and pre-Hispanic urbanism. In fact, it is crowned by a unique pyramidal structure in the region that is taller than the famous pyramid of the sun of Teotihuacan. Therefore, to guarantee its conservation, the Mexican Government has just made a radical decision: expropriate 9.2 hectares of the environment so that they become directly dependent on the National Institute of Anthropology (INAH). What has happened? That Mexico has just shown that it is willing to pull expropriation decree to protect your assets. And he has also done it in a practical way. The Executive led by Claudia Sheinbaum has announced that the National Institute of Anthropology and History has “taken possession” of a 9.22-h property in the vicinity of the Toniná site, in the state of Chiapas. The curious thing is how that land has been obtained, until recently in private hands. The transfer has been possible thanks to a decree that gave the green light to the sale in favor of the INAH. “The action arises from a cause of public utility, promoted in December 2025 by Culture,” clarify the authorities. Why have they done it? The Executive’s objective is twofold: to facilitate the conservation and research of the environment. In the words of INAH itself, the idea is to “guarantee the optimal conditions” of the site. “Toniná is an essential part of the living history of Chiapas and Mexico. This decree protects an asset of the nation and contributes to the exercise of cultural rights through access to knowledge and historical memory,” reasons Claudia Curiel de Icaza, Secretary of Culture. The leader insists that with the measure the State reinforces its capacity to “preserve heritage, ensure its management with technical criteria and sustain conservation, restoration and research tasks.” From now on, the INAH will expand its capacity to monitor, care for and study the ancient Mayan city. Why is it important? For several reasons. Beyond the legal formula used or its advantages to protect, conserve and study the site, the measure is interesting because Mexico wants to take advantage of it to promote Toniná. “In the archaeological zone, a comprehensive reactivation program will be implemented that will create a structured route for its eventual reopening,” keep it up the INAH. In fact, one of the objectives is to promote “responsible tourism.” Click on the image to go to the tweet. Is Toniná so important? Yes. And that is another reason why the recovery of the nine hectares has generated so much expectation. Located on the border between the Mayan highlands and the lowlands, the inhabitants of ancient Toniná left a fascinating acropolis, with overlapping platforms and a pyramidal structure that archaeologists considered “unique” in the Mayan world. In fact, it surpasses in height the famous Pyramid of the Sun of Teotihuacán, 65 meters. “The richness of this archaeological zone makes it comparable to other large sites in Chiapas, such as Palenque. Its heyday goes from the year 600 to 900, within the Classic period, and it was the last witness to the decline of the so-called Old Mayan Empire,” explains the INAH. The most famous governor in its history was Tzots Choj (‘Tiger-Bat’) and its greatest archaeological treasure is offered by its acropolis and central plaza. In it we find a staircase of 260 steps, the enormous pyramidal structure and a labyrinth of temples, palaces and roads. Experts have also located an altar for sacrifices and spaces to play ball. How long have we known her? The first to tell us about Toniná was Brother Jacinto Garridoin the 17th century, but the site has continued to fascinate experts since then. During the 19th century, expeditions continued and throughout the 20th century (especially between the 1970s and 1980s) excavations intensified. It was then when the studies and conservation work carried out by the INAH were launched, which has allowed its secrets to be discovered. Despite years of study, the archaeological institute trust in which there are still surprises: “Toniná still keeps many secrets that will have to be known.” Images | Wikipedia and SC (INAH) In Xataka | The Mayan Train has become a nightmare for Mexico: what seemed like a great plan has run into justice

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