The rains at the beginning of last week have been received by farmers in the south of Tenerife like ‘liquid gold’ as it coincided with the so-called "great potato harvest" whose planting began in November and will end in February with results seen April and early June. However, the water has not been as generous as the region's farmers expected and hoped for.
On the western slope of the island through Arona, Adeje, and Santiago del Teide, hardly any rainfall was recorded, whereas in the east in municipalities such as Vilaflor, San Miguel, Granadilla, Arico, and Fasnia, including the Güímar Valley, the long-awaited rains have been received with open arms after the storms passed them by in recent years.
After hot weather and temperatures above usual over Christmas and New Year, the change in meteorological conditions and rain like last Monday's will prevent the harvest from drying out prematurely and, therefore, reduce the chances that the next crop of potatoes will come out smaller than desired.
This rainwater has also come in handy for the vineyards, which have endured an intense drought for almost four years, resulting in a smaller amount of grapes being harvested by the regulatory councils of the South (Güímar, Abona and the Santiago del Teide area), but this year it is hoped that production will improve.
Despite the notable drop in rainfall rates, the Cabildo has guaranteed irrigation water to farmers in the south of the island. The head of this department, Javier Parrilla, explained that Tenerife's reclaimed water deposits are 70 and 90% full, while the reservoirs in the South were at 66% before the last storm.
"Reclaimed water allows us to reach more stable levels, providing peace of mind to farmers by ensuring the irrigation of their crops," he said.
It should be remembered that the island's agricultural water supply system consists of 21 storage tanks and ‘ponds’ with a total capacity of more than 5 million cubic metres. Of these, 1.6 million are stored in the south and 3.4 million in the north.
