The Union of Small Growers and Ranchers has estimated the number of hectares damaged by last Thursday's hailstorms at no less than 60,000 hectares, with very severe damages in six autonomous regions, including Extremadura, where up to 80% of the Piornal cherry crops are estimated to have been damaged.

In addition to Extremadura, the storms have also affected Castile-La Mancha, Madrid, Aragon, Catalonia and Castile-Leon, where growers have described the situation as "catastrophic," with around 58,200 hectares with a degree of damages standing between "average" and "very high".

In the case of Extremadura, the agricultural organisation has still to quantify the losses.

The hectares affected by storms on Thursday will be added to the more than 70,000 where damages had already been reported up until 24 June, according to data from Agroseguro.

For growers, the year 2014 is a clear example of the effects of climate change: an increasingly "extreme and dangerous" climate for agriculture.

The organisation has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and the Autonomous Regions to strengthen the agricultural insurance system.

"We have yet to reach a level of assurance of at least 80%, as below this figure, the system is failing," stated sources from UPA.

Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/