Regional Farming in Spain: A Detailed Look

Spanish Agricultural Landscapes: Regional Analysis

North-West Spain

Geographical Area: North-West.

Physical Environment: Mountainous terrain, some flat. Oceanic climate (+800 mm).

Agrarian Structure

  • Population: Previously large, now weak and old due to emigration.
  • Settlement (Poblamiento): Scattered villages, parishes, and hamlets.
  • Property: Smallholder farms (-10 ha), difficulty of mechanization, closed plots, remote from each other, uneconomic.

Land Use

  • Agriculture: Before, Polyculture (self-sufficiency): corn, potatoes, fruit, vines. Now, Specialization: Huerta/meadow, corn, alfalfa, clover.
  • Husbandry: Small and medium-sized family farms (uncompetitive, part-time). Asturias, Cantabria, and the Basque Country have upgraded in size and equipment.
  • Logging: Important industry for furniture and paper pulp.

Interior Peninsular Spain

Geographic Area: Plateaus and the depression of the Ebro.

Physical Environment: High elevation (plateau). Moors, meadows, hills. Mediterranean climate. Low and erratic rainfall (300-800mm). Great thermal amplitude; frost.

Agrarian Structure

  • Population: Poor, aging (Emigration 1960-1975). Depopulation, land abandonment.
  • Settlement (Poblamiento): Concentrated in small towns (Valleys of the Duero and Ebro) and larger towns at large distances, especially in the southern half.
  • Property: Minifundios in the Duero Valley (land consolidation) and irrigated estates in Ebro, Salamanca, Burgos, Castilla – La Mancha, Extremadura, Aragon (rainfed).

Land Use

  • Agriculture: Dryland, Mediterranean Trilogy (now barley and sunflower). Cereals: Castile and Leon. Olive/Vines: Castilla – La Mancha, Aragon, Extremadura, Navarra, La Rioja. Irrigation: large increase: industrial, fodder, fruits, and vegetables.
  • Husbandry: Sheep in Castile and the Ebro Valley. Cattle and pigs in urban centers of Castile. Dehesa in Zamora, Salamanca, and Extremadura: Sheep, Cattle, Pigs, Hunting.
  • Logging: Pines in Soria.

Mediterranean Spain

Geographic Zone: Coastal/Pre-Mediterranean coast, Guadalquivir Valley; Balearic Islands.

Physical Environment: Plain relief on the coast, mountainous area in the pre-coast, and countryside in the Guadalquivir Valley. Mediterranean coastal/steppe climate. Erratic rainfall (300-800mm).

Agrarian Structure

  • Population: Reduced in coastal areas due to migration.
  • Settlement (Poblamiento): Previously dispersed (farmhouses, farms), now progressively concentrated in towns.
  • Property: Irrigation, very divided, smallholdings. Upland, small and medium (Valencia, Murcia), medium (Catalonia), estates in Andalusia (West).

Land Use

  • Agriculture: Irrigation (international demand): early horticulture, greenhouses, citrus, tropical. Dryland: Mediterranean Trilogy and almond.
  • Husbandry: Cattle and pigs (integration) in Catalonia. Sheep and goats in dry farming. Bulls in the Guadalquivir.

Mountainous Spain

Geographic Area: Pyrenees, Montes de Leon, West of the Cantabrian Mountains, Central System.

Physical Environment: High rainfall (+1000 mm). Mild temperatures in summer and cold in winter.

Agrarian Structure

  • Population: Very low, low density. Depopulation.
  • Settlement (Poblamiento): Previously dispersed (valleys), now concentrated in larger towns (valley bottoms).
  • Property: Minifundios closed in separate plots. Mountains and prairies of public municipal property used in common by the residents.

Land Use

  • Agriculture: Phasing (Agriculture: Background valleys/Forest: watershed/livestock: pasture summits). North orchard. South/East: almond and olive trees on terraces.
  • Husbandry: Extensive, sheep and cattle in the north, sheep in the Mediterranean (transhumance).
  • Logging: Fuel and Wood: Pine, Chestnut, Eucalyptus.