Farmers Call Storm Aid Insufficient in Guadix

Farm aid is the issue here — and the argument is not about whether help exists, but about who still gets left out. After months of pressure, Spain’s government widened storm relief tied to the winter and early-2026 borrascas. But farm groups in Granada say the fix is too narrow, especially for places like Guadix and Baza, where damage was real and expensive. That is why this story is still moving on April 30, not ending. (granadahoy.com) ### What changed this week? The immediate news is that Granada’s farm organizations — ASAJA, COAG, UPA and Cooperativas Agroalimentarias — reacted to a new expansion of beneficiaries approved by the central government. They welcomed the fact that the decree was modified at all, because that had been one of their main demands since (granadahoy.com)ss the province. (granadahoy.com) ### Why were Guadix and Baza so angry? Because the original aid map left out broad productive areas that say they suffered the same kind of storm damage as the zones that were included. The excluded list repeatedly cited by the sector includes Los Montes, La Alpujarra, Valle de Lecrín, Guadix, Baza and Huéscar. For farmers there, t(granadahoy.com)cree meant the state was treating similar damage differently depending on the map line. (asaja.com) ### How big are the losses? This is the number that gives the dispute its weight: the organizations put total agricultural damage in Granada at more than €117 million. They describe a mix of lost olive harvests, uprooted or toppled trees, gullies carved into farmland, broken irrigation systems, cut-off rural roads, flooded plots, and extra feed costs fo(asaja.com)ructure loss plus higher operating costs all at once. (granadahoy.com) ### How many people are affected? The farm groups say more than 21,000 farmers and ranchers in the excluded comarcas have damages comparable to those in the areas that were covered from the start. That figure is why the complaint has had political force in Granada. It turns a local grievance into a province-wide pressure campaign — especially when the excluded territories include whole agricultural comarcas rather than a couple of isolated towns. (asaja.com) ### What aid was already on the table? There are actually two layers here. Madrid approved emergency measures through Real Decreto-ley 5/2026 in February, then later added technical changes, including an April 9 order that explicitly adapted eligibility rules for apiculture. Separately, Andalusia’s regional government announced its own storm package wor(asaja.com) So the argument is not “no aid exists.” The catch is that eligibility rules and territorial lists decide who can really touch the money. (boe.es) ### Why did the dispute drag on? Because the legal framework moved in steps. The original February decree created the aid structure. A March 20 resolution identified affected municipalities for parts of the response. Farm groups then kept pushing, arguing Granada’s map was incomplete. They even called a major protest for March 18, then paused it after the government signaled it would review the e(boe.es) they wanted. (boe.es) ### What are they still demanding? They want the remaining excluded comarcas brought in and they also want all beneficiary types covered, including legal entities such as commercial companies, civil partnerships and communities of goods. That sounds technical, but it matters — plenty of farms are not held by a single individual. If those business forms stay outside, part of the rural economy still misses out even after the map expands. (granadahoy.com) ### So what happens next? The pressure campaign is not over. The sector says it will keep working through its follow-up commission and has warned that mobilizations could return if broader inclusion does not happen. Bottom line — the government has moved enough to show the complaints landed, but not enough to convince farmers in Guadix, Baza and the other excluded areas that the relief matches the damage. (asaja.com)