Agricultural Landscapes and EU Policy in Spain

Posted on Jan 15, 2025 in Geography

Agricultural Landscapes

Item 5: Agricultural Landscapes

Landscape-oceanic specializes in agricultural grasslands, forage crops, and cereals. The Mediterranean agricultural landscape is very varied. The drylands are dedicated to the Mediterranean trilogy, irrigation practice, and intensive farming. The landscape varies. Continental-agricultural land use is based on their latitude. The coldest zone is subsequently worked. The exploitation of coniferous forest is in the north, central, and livestock to the south. The area is dedicated to farming and the cultivation of cereals and fodder plants, industrial and area steppe dominated by monoculture cereal and industrial crops in dry land. In the Arctic tundra, the migrating reindeer herding survives. In mountain areas, the main activities are cattle or sheep ranching and forestry exploitation.

Elements of Agricultural Landscapes in Spain

  • Plots in farms tend to decrease in number and increase in surface area.
  • The land uses are livestock, agricultural, and forestry:
    • Agriculture focuses on grains and legumes, horticultural products, and provides fodder.
    • Cattle for meat and milk, sheep for meat and milk for cheese, and pork for meat and sausages.
    • Forest exploitation specializes in certain species of hardwoods and conifers.
  • Rural settlements are scattered at the periphery to the mainland and concentrated inside.
  • Rural habitat includes several models of houses according to their material and its map.

The Agricultural Landscape of Peninsular Spain

The plots are of varied sizes. The agricultural land uses are:

  • Agriculture presents great contrasts between dry and irrigated lands:
    • Drylands devoted to crops are extensive and feature the Mediterranean trilogy.
    • Irrigation is used in both sub-plateaus for the intensive cultivation of industrial plants.
  • The main livestock are extensive sheep in cereal stubble and swine and sheep in cattle pastures.

The Mediterranean Agricultural Landscape

The plots are small areas in and medium irrigation in dry and agricultural land uses are:

  • Agriculture shows great contrasts.
  • The livestock population has less importance and has a tendency to concentration.

Agricultural Policy of the European Union: CAP

Spain and the countries of the European Union have adopted a common agricultural policy that proposes the following objectives:

  • To establish fair prices for farmers and consumers.
  • To achieve competitive agriculture and reduce production surpluses.
  • Achieving sustainable agriculture, allowing rural people to maintain and preserve the environment, responding to growing demands.

Measures to achieve these objectives are:

  • The increase of funds earmarked for rural development in disadvantaged areas.
  • The impulse of ecological agriculture.
  • The preparation of the financial aid received by farmers in compliance with environmental regulations.

Agriculture in the Valencian Community (CV)

Agriculture in the Valencian Community has a marked duality that led to the existence of two types of agricultural landscape:

  • The irrigated area devoted to citrus and horticulture.
  • The area of dry lands in the interior.

The conditions are:

  • The average physical weather, the relief, arable soil quality, and availability of water made it possible to discuss areas of smallholding in irrigated areas.
  • Strong capital investments are conducted in the expansion of irrigated areas, in crop substitution, in machining, etc.
  • The practice of part-time agriculture and a strong development of cooperatives are also allowed to continue cultivating many irrigated farms.