Key Factors Influencing Spanish Agriculture: Climate, Human, and Policy Impacts

**Factors Influencing Spanish Agriculture**

**1. Environmental Conditions**

• **Aridity:** A significant portion of Spain experiences low annual rainfall. The summer months coincide with the highest levels of evapotranspiration, further reducing water availability.
• **Temperatures:** The number of days with frost limits the cultivation of certain crops. Other plants require very hot summers. Temperature and rainfall patterns determine the suitability of different agricultural species.
• **Topography:** Topography significantly influences both climate and soil conditions.
• **Soil:** Spain features a variety of soil types. Humid regions are dominated by brown soils, with varying fertility depending on texture. In the Mediterranean climate zone, brown soils, red Mediterranean soils, fertile black soils, and semi-desert gray soils are found. The interaction between agricultural areas and the natural environment creates diverse agricultural regions.

**Three Main Agricultural Regions**

• **Atlantic:** Predominantly livestock (cattle) and exploitation of the forest.
• **Warm Mediterranean:** Dedicated to horticulture. It occupies the Mediterranean coast, Andalusia, Extremadura, and the southern part of the Ebro depression.
• **Cool Mediterranean or Inland:** Combines irrigated areas with rainfed field crops.

**2. Human Factors**

**A) Socioeconomic Factors**

• **Agricultural Labor Force:** The agricultural population has drastically declined in the last 30 years, from 4.5 million in the 1960s to less than 1.25 million today. The agricultural workforce is also aging. Despite this, Spain's agricultural population remains higher than many EU countries. Most work is produced on family farms, with limited paid employment, primarily in Andalusia and Extremadura. Female farm work is significant in Atlantic Spain, often combined with part-time livestock farming while men work in other sectors.
• **Types of Agricultural Holdings:** Spanish farms are characterized by a dominance of extreme values and strong regional contrasts. There has been a reduction in the number of small farms and a large increase in farms over 50 hectares. Small farms are abundant in coastal regions, with significant minifundismo (small landholding) in Galicia and the Cantabrian coast. Large farms predominate in western Extremadura and Andalusia. Small farms tend to be highly fragmented. Land consolidation efforts since the 1950s have concentrated about 6 million hectares, primarily in the north. In the south, the need to redistribute unproductive large estates persists. Land redistribution was addressed in the Agrarian Reform Law of the Second Republic but was halted during the Civil War. Subsequent land reform laws have been implemented, particularly in Andalusia and Extremadura.

**B) Technological Factors**

Since the 1960s, Spain has experienced a Green Revolution:

• **Mechanization:** The use of machinery has greatly increased, sometimes exceeding actual needs due to the prevalence of separate machines on small farms.
• **Fertilizer Use:** Fertilizer use exceeds 100 kg per hectare, a significant figure considering the importance of rainfed crops.
• **Energy Inputs:** Increased use of fuel, plastics, other petroleum products, and electricity.
• **Livestock Improvements:** Widespread use of feed, artificial insemination, and veterinary treatments has significantly increased livestock productivity.

These advances have increased productivity, placing Spain at high levels of productivity per person. However, they have not resolved all agricultural challenges.

**C) Political Factors**

Many political decisions have influenced Spanish agriculture, including:

• Disentailment (Desamortización)
• Hydraulic Works Plans
• Colonization
• Land Consolidation Policies
• Price Policies
• Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)