Farmer Pepe Rubio will lose his small olive farm after the publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE) of an expropriation order to build a photovoltaic megaproject in his area, this is what they say from Research Team.
After rejecting a rental offer because it is considered economically insufficient, the State will take away his land, paying him only its cadastral value, estimated at 20,000 euros. This decision ends the livelihood of this worker, whose farm currently generates an annual income of 70,000 euros.
“They told me it was totally voluntary.”
The conflict began when an energy company contacted this farmer to propose leasing his land. “They called me to tell me if I was interested in renting my land, which was totally voluntary,” explains Rubio.
The company’s offer amounted to 12,000 euros per year. However, the profitability of their olive trees is much higher than that figure. “I told them no, man, that my farm produces much more,” says the affected person.
The situation took a drastic turn when the supposed voluntariness disappeared. Rubio did not receive personal notification from the administration about the loss of his property. “A neighbor calls me and tells me: ‘Pepe, we are in the Official State Gazette regarding expropriation, they are expropriating us from our lands,'” details the farmer. The execution of this measure implies that all their olive trees will be uprooted and they will lose the land in exchange for a single payment of 20,000 euros.
“My trees are my life and they want to take them away from me”
Expropriation not only represents unaffordable economic damage, but also a strong personal blow. “We put up our tree and we have been raising it with a lot of effort and enthusiasm,” Rubio remembers. “My trees are my livelihood and now you find that they want to take them away from you,” laments the farmer, who confesses that since he received the news everything has been “a lifelessness.”
The problem affects more agricultural workers in the area. The adjacent plots in the Granada town of Caniles, dedicated to the cultivation of almond trees, will also be expropriated to make way for the solar installations.
In response, the area was filled with neighborhood banners: “Yes to renewables, no to expropriations, no to megaprojects that destroy our territory.” And although the case happened in 2023, Rubio continues to maintain his position of resistance.