The Algarve Report Wednesday 26th April 2023

by Mike Evans

Good day to you all and this week we have to start by commenting on the exceptionally warm weather we are experiencing for this time of the year. According to the “experts’ we are enduring temperatures which are on average 5 degrees warmer than we should expect for April. Whether this is down to Global Climate change or just an anomaly we should all be looking to make sure we are prepared for this type of weather in the future as scientists tell us it isn’t going to get cooler.

For those of us who live in a rural area the big issue as we get into Summer is Fires and as we have been promoting on our Facebook page for the past few weeks there is an increased danger of fires near our homes if we dont make sure our land around our properties is kept low so in the event of a fire the chance of spread is lessened. If you live next to an area where vegetation is high and the land is not looked after you can inform the GNR who will assess the situation and if they deem the need to have the area cut back will arrange it and bill the owner.

Last week in my report I wrote about the lack of water in the Algarve and this was again reiterated this past week by a report detailing a plan to move water from one reservoir to another. Whilst this is a short term fix the long term solution has to be found and soon as the expected desalination plant earmarked for the Albufeira area is not due to be in action before 2026.The worsening of the drought in the Algarve should force reflection on the region’s development model to define which activities may have a future in a scenario of water scarcity, defended the president of the Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve (AMAL).

“What we are doing is, at least, ensuring that there is no shortage of water for the urban water cycle and, then, we need to think about what activities, what type of agricultural production can be carried out, with water in ever-decreasing quantities” , said António Miguel Pina.

Without water many of the traditional aspects of farming could disappear as our first news article describes below.

Another aspect of the good weather is that for many the warm weather means assuming the sea is warm and as locals will know this is not the situation. We have seen a number of incidents in the past couple of weeks where people have been caught in Rip Currents and have been taken out by the winds. Luckily as in the case of the young girl of 17 who was swept out to sea on a paddle board, there was a good ending and she was seen by a passing cargo vessel. For others, the outcome has not been as good so it is very important that people make themselves and any guests they may be entertaining, aware of the dangers which are all around the coast.

Now a look at some of the stories that have been happening in the region in the past week

Future of Agriculture is at Risk due to Drought

The lack of rain and available water is aggravating drought levels, preventing the development of pastures in the countryside and making livestock farmers in the Algarve worried about the future, said one producer.

Nuno Coelho considered that the lack of rain has affected the growth of the pastures, but also the diversity of available species, reducing the time in which the animals can feed themselves in the field and forcing producers to resort to feed and forage, increasing the costs of production.

“The situation is worse than last year. Last year we had a bad autumn/winter, but then in the winter/spring it got better, and the pastures still managed, but this year the opposite happened. We had a wet autumn, which ended up giving some encouragement to the dams, but since that time, we’ve spent the winter, so to speak, without rain”, he said. The situation tends to “become worse and worse”, because “the plants do not have the adequate growth and development and, year after year, the variety of biodiversity in the seed bank in the soil is worse and worse”, he justified.

“One hectare of land, for my animals, allowed them to graze there for 15 days, very easily, and at this moment, maybe in three or four days they clear the land”, exemplified the producer, who has a herd of purebred goats. Algarvia in northeastern Algarve.

In order to maintain the activity and “be able to more or less bear the expenses”, Nuno Coelho said that he has already “drastically” reduced the number, going from the 130 animals he had three years ago to the approximately 60 goats that currently make up his herd.

“Expenses remain the same, that is, the business was no longer very profitable and, now, it is not profitable at all”, he lamented, warning that “resilience” is needed to maintain livestock activity in the Algarve and rely on other sources of income. income, as is your case, to cover losses that “threaten the survival” of producers.

Nuno Coelho also warned that, if this is not the case, “many people abandon the activity or think of other ways to stay in the territory with other activities”. “The rain doesn’t come, we don’t order it, and there’s no big way to reverse that. We have to be resilient, trying to keep things in the best possible way, adapting, perhaps, some ways of handling these realities, but if there is no water, there is no life, and I don’t see a great future for livestock, not only here in the mountains , as in the whole of the Algarve”, he warned.

Nuno Luís, who also has a herd of around 300 goats in the northeast Algarve, close to the Spanish border and one of the areas of the Algarve most affected by drought, said that the lack of water and rising costs are threatening the activity of producers of cattle.

“The situation has been critical. With the lack of water, the pastures have all dried up and it’s very complicated”, said the producer, regretting that the sowing of pastures made in October did not grow due to the lack of rain and water.

Nuno Luís explained that the pastures “will no longer produce anything they should”, because “it still rained in November and December, but now, in the spring, when it should have rained more, it didn’t happen” and the plantations did not grow.

“We had sown for the summer, we spent money making the plantations, and now we will have to spend more money on feed and straw”, he added, stressing that the initial idea was to be able to feed the cattle in the field until the summer, but “in the By the end of April everything will be dry”.

Added to this is also the rise in production costs, such as feed, which are around 13 euros for a 25-kilogram bag, when three years ago eight euros were paid for a 40-kilogram bag, he said, stressing that this causes “an additional expense of around 1,000 euros a month” to feed the herd.

The prices paid for each goat still “raised a little”, going from 45 to 50 euros, but that amount “is also not enough to cover the additional expenses”, which are making the activity “more difficult from year to year”.

“Before, we had a bad year and three or four good ones. Now, we’ve had bad years after bad years and the activity is getting harder and harder,” he concluded.

Kayaker Rescued by Ferragudo Lifeguard Station

The crew of the Ferragudo Lifeguard Station helped, on Sunday afternoon, a 37-year-old woman of French nationality, who suffered an accident while kayaking between Praia da Marinha and Praia do Barranquinho, in the municipality of Lagoa.

“Following an alert received at 1:47 pm, via the Lisbon Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC Lisbon), the crew of the Ferragudo Lifeguard Station were immediately activated,” says the National Maritime Authority in a statement.

Upon arrival at the site, it was found that the kayaker had suffered an accident, which resulted in “a fracture in the upper right limb”. The victim was rescued by the crew of the Lifeguard Station to Benagil beach, where he was assisted by the Lagoa Volunteer Firefighters and later transported to a hospital unit.

Man’s Body found on Beach near Sagres

The body of a man was found on the morning of this Friday, April 21, floating near Martinhal beach, in Sagres , announced the National Maritime Authority.

The alert was given at 07:00 by a fisherman who was at the scene and elements of the Local Command of the Maritime Police of Lagos and of the Lifeguard Station of Sagres, in addition to the Volunteer Firefighters of Vila do Bispo, were immediately activated .

The body was collected from the water and transported to Porto da Baleeira, and death was declared on the spot by the health delegate. The victim was later transported to the Institute of Legal Medicine in Portimão by the Volunteer Fire Department of Vila do Bispo, where his identification will be confirmed.

The Lagos Maritime Police Local Command took care of the occurrence.

Man arrested in São Bartolomeu de Messines for drug trafficking

A 36-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday, April 18, in São Bartolomeu de Messines , in the municipality of Silves , for drug trafficking, announced the National Republican Guard (GNR).

The arrest was made by the Territorial Command of Faro, through the Núcleo de Investigação Criminal de Silves, as part of an investigation that had already been under way for about two months.

After a police diligence and a house search, 30 cannabis plants, 1,051 kilos of cannabis plant heads, 139 vases with cannabis plants in the germination phase, three greenhouses, a smart TV, a laptop, a mobile phone, a precision scale, a crusher, a sieve and other utensils for preparing the narcotic product. The suspect, who has a criminal record, was present at the first judicial interrogation at the Judicial Court of Silves.

Five People Arrested for Theft In Albufeira

Four men and a woman were arrested on Wednesday, April 19, for theft in Albufeira , announced the National Republican Guard (GNR).

The arrest of the suspects, aged between 17 and 31, was carried out by the Territorial Command of Faro, through the Territorial Post of Olhos de Água , during a patrolling action.

The Guard military found a man lying down and injured in the street, who claimed to have been something from a robbery by a group of five people, who fled towards the Oura area, after stealing the victim’s cell phone. The GNR went to the scene and found the suspects, who, after a security check, one of them was in possession of the stolen cell phone.

During the search, two more mobile phones were seized, one of which may be related to another theft.

The detainees, two of them with criminal records for theft and illegal possession of weapons, were presented at the Judicial Court of Albufeira the following day

Motorcyclist Dies in Accident Near Patacao.

A woman died this Wednesday following a collision between a motorcycle and a light vehicle in Patacão, Faro municipality , which also caused two injuries, one in serious condition, said a Civil Protection source.

The alert for the accident was given at 20:07 and the victims are between 35 and 40 years old, said a source from the Algarve Sub-regional Command.

In addition to the fatal victim, a woman who was riding the motorcycle, the accident also injured two men, one in serious condition, he said. On site were elements of the Sapadores de Faro, INEM and GNR firefighters , a total of nine operational, supported by five vehicles.