Spain´s Features

Spain with a population of approximately 46 million people is one of the largest (50.5 million hectares) and mountainous countries of Western Europe. Population density (91.2 habitants/km2) is still lower than most EU-27 countries.

A large part of Spain has a semiarid weather, with temperatures that range from extremely cold in the winter to scorching in the summer. Rainfall, which is often inadequate, tends to be concentrated in two generally brief periods during spring and autumn, and summer droughts occur frequently. Only 40% of Spanish land is suitable for agriculture, but soil is generally of poor quality and with severe erosion problems. Land devoted to agriculture for annual or permanent crops is about 5 million ha (10%). Another 5 million ha (10%) lay fallow each year because of inadequate rainfall. Permanent meadows and pastures land occupy 13.9 million ha (28%). Forests and scrub woodland account for 11.9 million ha (24%), and the rest is wasteland or are occupied by populated and industrial areas.

Spain’s relief, comprising a peninsular mainland and island territories open to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean Sea, has led to a considerable diversity of agroclimatic environments, which, in conjunction with human action, have shaped a variety of farming systems and settlement patterns.

The humidity system separates Spain into three main environments which are the basis for differentiating the main farming systems: the wet Atlantic system, constitutes the potential domain of natural meadow, hygrophilous thicket and deciduous forest; the dry Mediterranean system, with an annual humidity deficit and a very pronounced dry summer lasting three to five months, is the realm of the dry-land crops, mellowing pastures and uplands populated by holm oak and other Quercus species; and the Semiarid system, where the number of dry months is equal to or greater than half of the year and barely supports dry-land farming and upland woods, extends across the SE of the peninsula, some enclaves of the Ebro and Duero basins and the La Mancha region, and most of the Canary Islands.

Spanish Agriculture

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Spanish final agricultural production amounts to about 13% of all EU Member State production. It is clear from the share of agricultural products in the final agricultural production of all the EU Member States that these products account for over 50% of the final agricultural production generally in the Mediterranean countries (and certainly in Spain), whereas in the Northern European countries stock farming predominates.

The climatic and soil diversity of the different regions of the country means that farming varies considerably among the Autonomous Communities, where there is a very marked productive specialisation, including particularly:

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The Cantabrian cornice (Communities of Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country) and Galicia, are chiefly stock farming areas, particularly oriented towards dairy and beef cattle. Despite their predominance of intensive livestock farming, the communities of Catalonia and Madrid have also sizeable crop sectors. In the communities of Andalucia, Murcia, Valencia, and the Canary and Balearic Islands, agriculture is clearly dominated by crops based on fruit and vegetable production. Nevertheless they maintain extensive livestock production systems in unproductive and marginal areas. The communities of Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla-Leon and La Rioja are also clearly oriented to cereal and industrial crops, in which vineyards have a sizeable percentage share; extensive (beef and sheep) and intensive livestock (pig and sheep) systems are also present. Farming in the community of Navarra and Extremadura is remarkably well-balanced between crops and stock farming; cereals, fruits and manufactured livestock products stand out in both Autonomous Communities.

Spanish Livestock

Stock farming accounts for 40% of Spain’s final agricultural output. This percentage grew significantly in the sixties and has remained practically unchanged since the early seventies.

Click photo to enlarge The national Cattle sector, in its beef and dairy uses, is historically one of the mainstays of Spain’s stock farming and is closely linked with the social fabric of the countryside. In recent years, cattle farmers have professionalised gradually and tended towards specialisation in their production type, and they are now fewer in number. The present census of cattle is approximately 6.2 million head. This makes Spain the third-largest EU-27 country by head of cattle. Spanish beef and cattle account for about 19% final livestock output, this is 7.1 % of the final agricultural output, and a further 6.5% of final agricultural output is contributed by other cattle products, notably milk. Cattle’s ability to make use of grazing resources to provide meat, milk, leather and work has been exploited by humankind for many years. We can find both traditional production methods based on the use of autochthonous breeds and cattle farming adapted to the environment using intensive production techniques and advanced technologies.

Click photo to enlarge Spain, with 22.5 million of Sheep has one of the largest census in the EU-27. The significance of sheep farming arises from its threefold production uses (milk, meat and wool), and the frugality, endurance and adaptability of sheep. The sector has gradually professionalised in recent years. Wool production is now merely residual, and farmers have specialised in meat (233.000 t) and milk (400.000 t) production.

Click photo to enlarge Spanish Goat livestock, with 2.9 million of head, has always been closely tied to sheep livestock in productive and socio-economic terms, which explains why the two species are often addressed together at many forums. There are nonetheless major productive differences, owing to the physiological features of goat. Goat has traditionally been exploited for meat, milk and leather. The goat sector has gradually professionalised specialised in milk (500.000 t) and meat (13.000 t) production, mostly accounted for the slaughter of suckling kids, though hides are still significant.

Click photo to enlarge Spain is currently the second-largest Pig producer in the EU-27, with total pig livestock of more than 26.2 million head. The pig livestock sector is highly vertically integrated and powerfully structured by associations, often closely linked to the processing industry. The sector accounts for 33% of final livestock output and 12.4% of final agricultural output, with a production totalling around 3.200.000 t as result of the sacrifice of approximately 39 million head. Pig livestock industry has traditionally been linked in Spain to household economies in the countryside; breeding a small number of pigs has always been a major supplementary activity. The significance of pig breeding is reflected by the gastronomy of all regions of the country, in which the consumption of fresh pork and other pork products is part of Spanish culture. Given the features of swine husbandry (physiological, pathological, nutritional and handling characteristics), pig farming, together with aviculture, has attained to the highest degree of industrialisation and intensive production out of the various livestock species. Iberian breeds have lately recovered and now account for about 10% of the national census thanks to the high quality of their meat and the removal of former barriers that limited access to foreign markets.

Click photo to enlarge Horses are found throughout Spain, in different areas of its geography, from the humid mountainous regions of the north to the meadowlands of the south and west, as well as the territory of central Spain lying between these, the Balearic and the Canary Islands. There has been an increase in the number of horses in Spain in recent years, due to the evolution of breeds, economic factors, the increase in the number of riders, horse-riding as a sport and for leisure, the use of horses as pets and the utilisation of land suitable for grazing.