SSUENN 1555 //7 -23 29 APRIL 2015 IISSUE OO . .1592 13 -January 2016
COSTA DE ALMERÍA
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Danger of drought for local farmers
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ONCE lottery ticket sales rise dramatically Tickets showed an image of Mojacar THE image of Mojacar on ONCE lottery tickets on December 27 led sales to multiply by five compared to any other Sunday in the town. The head of the National Organisation for the Blind in Spain (ONCE) in Huercal-Overa said that even more would have been sold if it had been a week day. See page 2
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WARM winters may destroy agricultural industry
Giving blood in Albox Donors are always needed to make the province self-sufficient ALMERIA’s Provincial Blood Transfusion Centre has programmed a visit from the mobile collection unit to Albox health centre for January 13
and 14. Centre director Aref Laarej said: “Almeria Province is self-sufficient in blood thanks to donations.” See page 59
Good start to the year Government provides some jobs for 77 people MOJACAR and the surrounding areas are popular with tourists as it is but according to reports, rising winter temperatures may contribute to an all-year tourist season. According to a report in local Spanish daily ‘El Almeria,’ the province has the highest average yearly temperature in Spain over the past years with a balmy 18.9 degrees. This is good news for sun-lovers and any businesses that benefit financially from tourism, but, although in some cases it has been good for crops, local farmers report that they are having to invest more for irrigation. They have to compete with neighbouring Murcia, where grants are available
for desalination processes to make water more easily available, but in Almeria there is no such help. A large part of the province’s economy is based on its agriculture and if things go on as they have been over the past decades, the situation will be impossible to maintain. September and October 2015 brought slightly more rain than the same months in 2014, but not enough to stop the drought, and from the end of October to the end of November, there was double the rain of the previous year, but still not enough. Almeria has reduced its water consumption and most farmers have installed drip irrigation, plus, the administration is attempt-
ing to create more desalination plants and improve the water network. According to experts, if something isn’t done soon, within 70 years there will be 30 per cent less water in the province. They insist that towns must join forces and means to agree on how resources should be used and make sure that water is not wasted anywhere. Approximately 55,000 litres of water per year are used in Almeria households, which is less than in other parts of Spain, but according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study, more than is recommended and more than the average for the world.
SEVENTY-SEVEN people from families at risk of social exclusion in Albox have been given the chance to work for two weeks thanks to a regional government employment scheme which will pay the workers a fair wage for two weeks work carrying out cleaning, garSee page 62 dening and maintenance tasks about town.
Walking for health Expatriates join in to walk one million steps THEY did it! A group of Zurgena residents, including many expatriates, have reached their self-imposed challenge to walk one million
steps as part of a healthy lifestyle initiative organised by the Town Hall and promoted by the Northern Health See Page 64 District.