Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Maria Luisa Gómez Moreno
Author-Name: Jesús Mª Vías Martínez
Title: Los cítricos en la Hoya de Málaga y su piedemonte: Una identidad reciente y amenazada
Abstract: RESUMEN:
El trabajo aborda la defi nición de la unidad de paisaje correspondiente al cultivo de cítricos
en la Hoya de Málaga y su piedemonte. Aplicando dos marcos teóricos, desarrollo local, y dinámica
economía orgánica, industrial y postindustrial, se precisan las fases que lo han construido; su
dimensión identitaria, los factores que actualmente amenazan su continuidad (abandono por falta
de rentabilidad y bajo los efectos de difusión de usos periurbanos) y la oportunidad de la propuesta
de parque agrario para superar este riesgo.
ABSTRACT:
The work of this article is to defi ne the unit of landscape that corresponds to citrus crops in the
valley and foothills of Málaga. To do this, two theoretical frameworks have been applied through an
interrelated approach. Firstly, local development, identifying the elements of territorial capital and its components that are considered conditioning factors of said landscape and its dynamic. Secondly,
the concepts of organic, industrial and post-industrial economics as contexts for said dynamic.
The sources used are bibliographical, cartographical, statistical, urban planning documents and
photographs. The results can be set out in the following terms:
1.-The presence of citrus crops in the Guadalhorce valley obeys the existence of three stages.
The fi rst was developed within the context of organic economics (between the 9th Century and approx 1960) during which time citrus crops were just another component in the multiple fruit and vegetable crop-growing located on the travertine rocks on the western bank of the valley. The destination of the product was self-suffi cient supply and commercialisation in the city of Málaga. In the second stage (1860-1960), identifi able with the fi rst faltering steps of the industrial economy in Málaga, monoculture areas appeared on the Guadalhorce terrace. A new agent organised these estates: urban capital which large owned estates and small tenant-run farms, changing the destination towards extra-provincial commercialisation, making the most of the proximity of the railway tracks. The third stage corresponded to the autarchic and developmentalist agrarian policies of Francos regime, also linked to industrial capitalism, although with two different manifestations which give rise to two phases. In the fi rst (1960-65), the policy of agrarian colonisation (institutional agent) brought about a change in the hydraulic system with channels transporting water drawn from three reservoirs built on the Guadalhorce river network. This led to an expansion of irrigated land (15,000 to 22,000 ha) under a mini estate tenant-farming structure. The expected focus was multiple fruit and vegetable crops, and growing feed for dairy cattle. In the second phase (1965-1985), the convergence of differen problems with the appearance of another agent modifi ed this situation. The problems included the poor adaptability of stepped-lands for irrigation; the low revenues of the farms; and competition for labour exercised by the urbanisation of capital and the coast. The new - private agents were the Levante-based merchants who stimulated the growth of lemon crops to export to the European Union. The result: a landscape defi ned by citrus crops, planted in a regular formation, spread over terraces and glacis, and stretching towards the confl uent valleys. The third phase, from 1985 to the present day, has been defi ned by the convergence of characteristic processes of post-industrial society with the incorrect interrelation of producer agents. Hence, low profi tability combined with insuffi cient exploitation leads to a decrease in the cultivated land area. Simultaneously, proximity to the capital turns this into a peri-urban space, leading to the paradox that citrus trees become an icon (orange blossom), identifi ed with a high environmental value that is attractive to potential residents. In addition, there has been expansion in commercial and transportation uses, and the location of edgelines.
2.-As a consequence of these stages, currently the landscape of citrus fruits in the valley of
Málaga is a fragmented landscape characteristic of peri-urban areas and threatened by the ambiguous treatment to which it is subject as a result of planning. Hence, the Urban Organisation Plan for Malaga (POTAUM) and the General Urban Plans (PGOU) for the different municipalities all assess citrus crops as highly valuable elements of identity, but the protection mechanisms in place have only a weak capacity to regulate the urban sprawl that is consuming them.
3.-The proposals drawn up by the Guadalhorce Rural Development Centre (CEDER), on the
other hand, provides an opportunity for these crops, by linking them with the possibilities of proximity farming. Hence, the proposal of a farm park would provide a place where landscape quality, the biodiversity of traditional irrigation systems and the profi tability of farms would allow for the convergence of icon, sustainability and productive functionality.
Classification-JEL: R1
Keywords: Cultivo de cítricos, Evolución del paisaje, Espacios periurbanos, Citric fruits, Landscape evolution, Peri-urban areas, Edgelines
Pages: 243-265
Volume: 01
Year: 2013
File-URL: http://www.revistaestudiosregionales.com/documentos/articulos/pdf1210.pdf
File-Format: Application/pdf
Handle: RePEc:rer:articu:v:01:y:2013:p:243-265