The world’s avocado obsession has become the Algarve’s new ecological debate. The microclimate of the region, alongside increased demand for avocados, is driving the production of this subtropical fruit in the Algarve, even though only a tiny percentage of them remains in Portugal and most are exported to other European countries.
The area of avocado-based agricultural land in the Algarve is currently estimated at 1500 hectares spread over 180 farms – accompanying a market that, in recent years, "began to demand avocado", with an exponential increase in consumption" in Northern Europe, the regional director for agriculture and fisheries told Lusa.
“We have here conditions of temperature, light, and we don’t have great propensity for the occurrence of frost, this is the Algarve a favourable climate, and one of a few areas in Europe - there are also in southern Spain and Sicily which have these conditions to avocado tree culture , said Pedro Valadas Monteiro.
However, this isn’t all blue skies. The increase in avocado cultivation in the Algarve has been criticized by many who claim that farms are contributing to depleting water resources and contaminating groundwater due to the use of glyphosate, a herbicide.
Angela Rosa, a young Taviran farmer, although not against avocado orchards, argues for limiting the planting areas, not only of that fruit, but also of other irrigated crops, criticizing the “full liberalization” of avocado cultivation, which she classifies as "out of control".
The main focus of her criticism is the increase in plantations in the eastern Algarve, where "avocado can be planted as if there was no tomorrow", and where the use of glyphosate is unchecked: "just walk the field or the road and look at the productions that all use the glyphosate”.
According to Amílcar Duarte, a researcher in agronomy at the University of Algarve (UAlg), this is a crop “practically not necessitating pesticides”, in part because the avocado tree has a large crown, giving off many leaves that cover the soil with shade, reducing the appearance of weeds and the need to use chemicals.
On the other hand, being a recent crop in Portugal, “it has not been introduced to some pests or diseases” that would lead the avocado trees to require phytosanitary treatments, he said, noting that glyphosate can be used in the early years, “as in any other fruit crop”, and then later “you don't have to apply anything."
As for water consumption, the researcher stressed that the avocado tree “is neither better nor worse” than the other irrigated plantations in the region, consuming “slightly more water than citrus fruits”. However, the exponential increase in avocado farmland over the past few years has without a doubt had a draining effect on the water supply.
Tomás Melo Gouveia, who owns a 35-hectare avocado orchard in Campina de Faro, currently in full production, denies the idea that avocado crops consume much more water than others, especially if sophisticated irrigation is usedl, as on his property. “To produce one kilo of avocado, we use around 600 liters of water, for oranges we need around 500 litres for a kilo, and for a kilo of meat, we need 14,000 liters,” he argued, adding that the irrigation of his orchard is monitored through the use of probes.
Some have resorted to highly modern additions to their farmland to monitor avocado production, such as João Bento in the far east of the Algarve, who has opted to invest in the installation of a weather monitoring machine on each of the seven farms he owns between Tavira and Castro Marim, which measure, among other parameters, wind direction and speed, temperature, relative humidity and evapotranspiration.
With a production of 1,000 tons a year, the producer argues that avocado is a “very green” crop, slamming people who criticize it for not knowing of the “modern agriculture” and “cutting edge technology” used by farmers.
The Regional Director for Agriculture, Mr. Monteiro, estimates that over the last decade between 150 and 200 million euros have been invested in avocado farms, mainly in technology and equipment for more efficient application of irrigation. “When avocado is produced in South America, to come to Europe, it has an associated transportation time and cost, so we are talking about a substantially higher ecological footprint than avocado that is produced here in the Algarve,” he concludes.
However, what of the effects this exponential increase in demand will, and has already started to have, internally on the Algarve’s countryside?
