Last month, Lanzarote received a major international honour in Rome after being recognised as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). We visited Lanzarote’s Centre of Agricultural Diversity (CBAL) and spoke to the Cabildo’s Minister of Agriculture and the Environment, Samuel Martín to chat about the island’s primary sector and other matters.
The CBAL lies just north of Arrecife, next to the city’s animal shelter, and is an impressive project. In this complex, attempts have been made to represent all the traditional agricultural systems on the island as well as several newer ones. It’s not open to the public but is a popular location for school outings and community projects.
The white buildings of the Centre are decorated with murals of ants, bees, beetles and other insects, and there are plots dedicated to the three traditional methods of cultivation on the island.
These are, firstly, the zocos of La Geria, the famous method of growing vines that involves digging a deep pit in the volcanic soil and building a horseshoe-shaped wall to protect the vine from the wind.
Then there is the use of sand in El Jable, the sandy central corridor of Lanzarote stretching from Famara to Güime. Here, the sand is dug until the soil is exposed, a crop is planted, compost is added and the hole is then filled in. his method is mainly used to grow Lanzarote’s famous sweet potatoes.
Finally, there is los enarenados, a technique used all over the island that involves a similar method to the use of sand in El Jable, but which uses volcanic gravel called rofe. Camel dung is used as fertiliser and after planting on soil, the crop is covered with a light layer of gravel, which is full of minerals and conserves moisture. This is the only method that remains unique to Lanzarote.
Samuel Martín explains that the FAO’s recognition of these methods is based on their usefulness to drought-threatened communities around the world, and that methods used on Lanzarote could be adapted to many poverty stricken areas.
Will climate change affect farming on the island? Samuel answers that this hot, dry year, and previous droughts will pose a challenge, but claims that “Lanzarote has an advantage – we’re used to drought, and we know how to manage it.”
He claims that it is increasingly possible to live according to 0 km philosophy, eating only products that are produced on Lanzarote, although currently the Canaries as a whole are the main focus of such initiatives.
Important to this is a new generation of farmers, and Samuel explains that some young people on the island are already going back to the land. He mentions a young farmer who is producing potato flour for the first time on the island and also praises newer arrivals who have embraced organic farming methods. Another project, to reclaim abandoned farmland in la Geria, is also progressing well.
Elsewhere at the CBAL, Samuel shows us the chicken coops where various strains of poultry bred on the islands are kept – in the day, many are allowed to roam free, and they flutter and peck around our feet.
There are plots devoted to wild local plants such as the tabaiba and verode, a small orchard of fig trees and a large mesh greenhouse containing pitaya plants – a relatively new crop that seems ideal for cultivation on Lanzarote. Elsewhere, there are large plots where crops are being sown and cultivated by local community associations and disabled groups.
A large mesh greenhouse contains the butterfly room, where monarchs flutter around or poise themselves on the greenery. This, claims Samuel, is a big favourite among the children who visit the centre.
Finally, we enter a refrigerated room containing bags and sacks of peas, lentils, grain and beans, as well as dried pumpkins and squashes. This is the island’s seed bank, where Samuel explains that farmers can request seeds for crops that have traditionally been grown on the island.
“PROTECTION, NOT PROHIBITION”
We also asked Samuel Martín, in his capacity as Environment Councillor, about the measures that are underway to protect natural spaces such as the Natural Park at Timanfaya and Las Grietas, which are threatened by the increasing number of tourists heading “off the beaten track”.
Holding up his smartphone, he says “This is the problem”, before explaining that carparks in the Natural Park, near sites such as the Volcán del Cuervo and Caldera Blanca, will be closed off, with access only available via a shuttle bus service operating from Mancha Blanca. Workers are also busy eliminating many of the tracks and paths that have been created by hikers on the sides of volcanoes and elsewhere, leaving just one route.
But doesn’t limiting access to these areas also affect local residents who have been enjoying the landscapes for years? Samuel replies “We don’t want to prohibit, but we need to protect. The vast majority of tourists are respectful of the environment, but inevitably there are some who aren’t. But it’s not a locals versus tourists issue: people who live here can be every bit as irresponsible.”
He explains that while there may be reserved spaces for residents on the shuttle buses, the new restrictions will apply to everyone – a consequence of the increased population on the island and new models of tourism.
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