Tenerife Chestnut Industry Crisis Threatens Island Wildfire Defenses

Tenerife’s chestnut industry is facing a crisis that goes beyond farming; it is now a critical issue of forest safety and land management. According to the Rural Development Association for the Conservation of Tenerife Chestnut Groves (Concasten), a lack of government support and an economy heavily focused on tourism have led to the abandonment of half the island's chestnut farms. In the north, where most of these groves are located, that figure climbs to nearly 60%.

Research from the University of La Laguna and the European VALCONMAC project highlights why this matters: managed chestnut groves act as natural firebreaks. During the 2023 wildfires, 90% of managed plots survived, whereas abandoned groves became dangerous fuel for the flames. This risk is made worse by a lack of clear forestry laws, which creates legal hurdles for farmers trying to manage their land.

Beyond these administrative issues, local farmers are struggling to compete. Imports have surged, rising from almost nothing in 2013 to nearly 43% of sales at Mercatenerife by 2019. Because Tenerife’s steep, rugged terrain makes mechanization nearly impossible, local producers cannot match the low costs of foreign competitors who farm on flat land. To make matters worse, water is often prioritized for the tourism industry, leaving little for agriculture.

In response, the sector has launched initiatives like the "Phoenix Project," which aims to combine land restoration with new business models like beekeeping and ecotourism. However, Concasten warns that these efforts will fail without better communication with local authorities. They argue that saving Tenerife’s chestnut groves requires more than just profitability; it requires a new management approach that values the environmental and social importance of keeping the countryside alive in a globalized world.