Rural Spain: Physical, Human, and Economic Factors

Posted on Dec 8, 2024 in Geography

Physical and Human Elements of Rural Spain

The Natural Environment

a) Relief: High altitude and heavy slopes facilitate and impede erosion mechanization.

b) Climate: Characterized by low and erratic rainfall, with extreme temperatures.

c) Soils: Generally of poor quality.

The Agrarian Structure

Historically characterized by a large workforce in coexisting small and large properties, yields were low. From the 1960s, it has been characterized by a sparse and aging population, with a trend toward increased farm size.

a) Demographics: The Spanish rural population has decreased. Causes of this decline include the rural exodus, prompted by the mechanization of agricultural tasks and low incomes in the field. Consequences have been the depopulation of the most backward areas and the aging of the rural population.

Trends for the coming years:

  • A continuation in the decline of the rural population.
  • Some rejuvenation due to an increase in young farmers, driven by the difficulties of finding work in cities and by grants from the European Union.

b) Changes in the operating system, ownership, and land tenure:

The rural area is divided into parcels or tracts of land that are under one owner.

  • Exploitation comprises all plots farmed by a single agricultural producer.
  • Property is a legal concept that refers to the owner of the land.
  • Large estates (> 100 ha) predominate in Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, and Aragon.
  • Small farms or smallholdings (<10 ha) predominate in the north of the peninsula and in the Valencia region.
  • The tenure system is the degree of dominion over the land. It is direct when the farm owner and the operator are the same person. It is indirect when the owner transfers land use to another person in exchange for a percentage of the crop (sharecropping) or the payment of rent (lease).

c) Changes in techniques and agricultural systems: Technical changes have included the mechanization of agriculture, genetic selection of seeds and livestock breeds, and the use of chemical fertilizers.

Settlement and Rural Habitat

a) Settlement consists of rural villages of less than 10,000 inhabitants. The origin of rural sites is related to natural conditions and historical factors. Subsequent growth or decline has been conditioned by the circumstances of each historical period. The typology serves two major models: dispersed and concentrated.

  • Dispersed settlement: The house is surrounded by fields, forests, or meadows.
  • Concentrated settlement: Houses are arranged side by side.
    • Linear, with houses arranged along a road or highway.
    • Crowded, with houses grouped around a core.

Transformations:

  • Inside: The size of the nuclei has been reduced.
  • On the coast: A new settlement devoted to leisure has filled the field with housing developments, hotels, and chalets.
  • In suburban areas: Population growth and economic development of the city are adding to rural communities.

b) Rural habitat consists of the cells of rural settlements.

  • Traditional materials of the house are found in the zone and give rise to several models: stone houses, intricate wooden houses, and mud houses.
  • The floor plan is related to the agricultural activity performed by its inhabitants: a block house at ground level with a single unit. In some cases, it is a single unit, sometimes separated by a simple partition. In other cases, there are separate units for housing and agricultural uses. The house may be divided in height: ground floor, top floor, and under the roof, where there is a barn or granary.

Agricultural Policy

a) Agricultural policy from the mid-nineteenth century until the adoption of the CAP focused on the system of land ownership.

  • The system of land ownership tried to change the policy of disentailment in the nineteenth century.
  • The inadequate size of land ownership was addressed by the land consolidation policy.
  • Land consolidation has been transferred to the Autonomous Communities.

b) The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP):

Spain has been affected by the problems of the farming community.

  • High product prices in relation to the world market. The CAP has reduced prices.
  • Deterioration of the environment due to the use of chemicals.
  • Depopulation of rural areas and the disappearance of traditional agricultural landscapes.

Agricultural Activity

a) Changes in agricultural structure can be summarized as specialization, technology adoption, and intensification.

  • Agriculture tends to specialize in products that do best in each region.
  • Incorporates modern techniques: mechanization, use of pesticides and fertilizers, selected seeds, and new techniques such as mulching (covering the soil with plastic), sanding (manure and a layer of sand and compost), greenhouses (creating a hot and humid microclimate), and hydroponics (holding the root of the plant with gravel, sand, or ash).
  • Intensive agriculture gains weight over extensive agriculture.

The National Irrigation Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food provides for the release of 228,000 hectares of irrigated land.

b) Agricultural production consists of cereals, legumes, grapes, olives, fruits and vegetables, flowers, industrial crops (e.g., tobacco), and fodder crops (e.g., maize).

Livestock

It is based on the coexistence of various livestock species in the same area. Current farming has undergone major transformations in structure and production.

a) Changes in farming structure:

  • Livestock production tends to specialize in meat or milk.
  • Increase in mechanization and farm size.
  • Factory farming is gaining weight over extensive farming.

Some problems:

  • Food shortages for livestock.
  • The size of many farms is still inadequate.
  • Animal husbandry is facing strong competition from other countries.
  • Livestock still has outbreaks affecting exports.

b) Livestock production has increased its stake in the final agricultural production.

  • Cattle are used for the production of milk and meat.
  • Sheep are used to produce meat and milk.
  • Pig farming is intended in part for fresh consumption and in part for sausage meat.
  • Poultry is used for meat and eggs.