These fields are green because it recently rained here a bit.
But Toni Quintana says it wasn't nearly enough.
The farmer from Figueras cultivates alfalfa as fodder for his cows.
He says he's never experienced such a drought.
The plants ought to be coming
up to our knees at this point.
But they barely grew in February
because there wasn't enough rain.
The Spanish region of Catalonia has declared a state of emergency
because of the drought.
Water reserve levels have fallen below 16 %.
Drastic water restrictions are already imposed.
And summer has not even begun yet.
This canal used to bring water to Toni Quintana's fields.
He doubts that will ever happen again.
It's practically impossible.
Only God can help us.
Hopefully he will.
Otherwise there's going to be a fight here.
There's no life without water.
For now, the cows can still feed on the reserves.
But stocks are running out.
Toni Quintana and his nephew Ferran have to make tough decisions.
We now have to buy what we can't
produce, because the crops in
the fields won't grow
properly without water.
We don't know how it's going to
pan out, whether we'll have enough
water for our animals, so we're
being careful with our investments.
Drought relief measures are putting a strain on
the regional government's budget.
And Catalonia has called an early election after an initial budget
proposal failed to pass.
Toni Quintana is not optimistic.
We make up just 1% of the electorate.
Tourism is much more important.
Because there's more money in it.
I always say that it's not politicians who rule
here, it's money.
Just a few kilometers further lies Roses on the Costa Brava.
The tourism sector here is preparing for the summer.
Water consumption increases as visitor numbers rise.
Marta Sanés runs a restaurant, and says that politicians reacted too
late to the drought.
We should have had new
desalination plants by now.
They are planned.
But I don't think
they'll come this summer.
Maybe next year with a bit of luck.
The minister in charge says the Catalonia government does not
have enough funds to solve the water crisis alone.
We have cooperation projects
with other regions suffering from
the climate crisis
in the Mediterranean.
We want to raise water policy
to a higher level, a European one.
We must understand we can only solve this together.
The future of Europe also depends on the future of the Mediterranean.
Waiting for EU support
isn't an option for Toni Quintana
and his nephew.
They worry about their animals and
the ongiong drought, and have asked
themselves whether they should continue at all.
It would be easy to say we quit.
But to really give
up the farm would hurt.
My parents' whole
life is in it, and mine.
And now also my nephew's.
So somehow it's
still worth carrying on.
For now, he'll keep hoping for more rain.
There is still snow on the nearby Pyrenees, and when that melts,
there will be some water for his fields.