The resulting quantity always will be superior when the crop is high and inferior if there is a low
crop (which has happened in the present crop year in Spain).
We firmly believe that improvements made in productive structures in dry and irrigated
lands during the last fifteen years should keep and increase if it is possible. These and other
improvements will permit to deal with the future with confidence in spite of variations
commented on aids that will be implemented in 2006.
On the other hand, the comparison of original samples taken in 1994 and 1999 with the
average level of per capita income in Jaén province shows that most of the marginal farms and
some irrigated land farms will not allow an average family to reach an average level of life. That
is why we believe that most of olive oil farms are kept because they are a complement to family
income and it is not its main economic activity. What is more, of the three types of olive farms
considered in this paper (marginal, dry or irrigated land) we believe that marginal olive farms
and dry land farms which are in the limit between marginal or productive dry land can disappear
in the future as incomes are not enough to deal with expenditures derived from farming.
We also consider that aids should be kept for these farms in a quantity enough to avoid
these farms from disappearing due in many cases to its geographical location in the limit to
semidessert lands. These subsidies will permit not only to keep farms but also there will be a
positive influence in the environment and area population. Farmers expect to receive subsidies,
higher to the ones perceived so far, to keep these farms.
Finally, analysed data about productive dry land and irrigated land farms in Jaen
province, make us to be optimist. We could state that they can provide income levels more than
acceptables even when aids will disappear. Perhaps for this statement we should consider
concrete circumstances per areas, but we believe that the effort made in merchandising of this
excellent product for human feeding is already giving and it will continue giving the real
dividens to farmers.Without any doubt changes in agriculture policy will affect the results in
short term and even some farms will not be feasible from the economic point of view, but in
general the sector can be optimistic if it continues producing not only for the national market but
for the whole world market.
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