The political parties fighting the local elections in 2019 answered questions posed by Para Una Xabia Sostenible based on the EDUSI project**
Question 2
Agriculture and traditional industry are nowadays marginal activities. Should these aspects be promoted? If so, how
Compromis reply
We believe that it is key not only to diversify the economy but also to have an impact on added value. An economy based solely on low value-added services condemns us to be a town of low wages and insecurity and to avoid this we have to invest in industry, understood in a broad sense and at a regional level: the agrarian transformation industry - we have to sell canned goods of fruits, vegetables and fish, instead of only raw materials - traditional and more modern industries - bags and carry-ons, but also chemistry and construction materials - and also advanced services -such as the design sector.
To do this in the first place, and with the construction of the two roundabouts pending, we have to develop once and for all the Catarroges Industrial Estate, and provide it with the adequate services. Second, and in line with the previous point, we have to define, with residents and local productive sectors, the specific sectors in which we have competitive advantages - trained people, applied knowledge, investors, access to international markets - and quality raw materials. Thirdly, we must help build a local and regional demand for our products: 1) encourage the use of local and / or organic foods in school canteens in Xàbia; 2) the promotion of the Municipal Market and the thematic markets of own product, in line with the models of Xaló or Jesús Pobre; and 3) encourage the tourism sector of local accommodation -in hotels, villas, apartments, etc.- to offer each visitor a sample of typical products of Xàbia and the Marina Alta as a welcome and as a seal of quality. If our residents consume local products and visitors take them away as a souvenir, our agriculture and industry has a big future ahead.
PSOE reply
Yes, sure. Agriculture and fishing, are both fundamental because of their economic, social and environmental value. To favour its improvement we have supported plans such as Pescaturisme, from the Town Council, the protection of the seabed, the recovery of traditional arts and the battle against poaching. As regards agriculture, we already have the agreement of about 30% of the agricultural land to implement a plan to reuse purified water for irrigation, and in this term of office we want to complete that cycle. And for the industry, this government has been the first to take the final steps for a new industrial zone. As we said before, the tourism and services sector are strategic, but they cannot be the only ones. We need sustainable mobility to structure the town. Not every journey needs to be by private vehicle.
Partido Popular reply
Of course they should be promoted. Agriculture should be encouraged, especially ecological, to provide irrigation water from its WWTP treatment and to complete the water cycle, create a brand or label that promotes and encourages agricultural products for consumption; and implement the municipal land market for local producers on Saturday mornings in the Riu-Rau de Arnauda. Permaculture should also be encouraged. We will have a technician to advise the processing for the creation of farms of new crops and organic farming for local farmers.
Likewise, promote the industry respectful of the environment.
Podemos reply
(see point 5 from question 1)
We also think it is a good idea to offer fishing boats for tourist excursions to learn more about this trade and appreciate it more.
We also want to introduce a contest with prizes for the most cared / most beautiful / most innovative/ecological fields (to be determined by a 'council of wise men' in the field of agriculture) to end the deplorable state of a large part of these fields and make that extensive part of Xàbia more attractive.
Cuidadanos reply
It is clear that we have to continue taking care of a sector such as our traditional agriculture, also using the opportunities offered by new technologies. Specifically, I believe that we must start investing in water recycling as the best way to encourage profitable agriculture, for our farmers, for a sustainable environment and to be once again an economic engine. In addition, we will invest from minute zero, to add value to our agricultural varieties, for example through the revolving Agricultural Market that we want to promote.
Ciudadanos por Jávea reply
We have an agrarian sector, that although it has structural problems and is in a crisis of profitability in particular as regards citrus, there is a developing sector of young people who show interest in organic farming. The Community of Irrigators also needs to be revived so that we are granted the concession of purified water for use in agricultural irrigation from the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation.
As for industry, it is important that once the industrial land of Catarroges is organised, small industries and the development of the tertiary sector are promoted with the capacity to respond effectively to the growing demands of the tourism sector. The challenge is that in Catarroges the small construction industry coexists with one that serves logistics to the tourism sector (hotels, hotels, commerce).
