cultivar_22_Final_EN

Portugal, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic: A Geographical Study 117 Mediterranean Sea, the great expanse of the Atlantic and the inland high country. “Portugal is Mediterra- nean by nature, Atlantic by location.” These are the influences that determine the contrasts between the country’s various regions, from the geography and fauna and flora to the population. This contrast is also one of altitude – from the mountain chains in the north to the plains in the south – and of climate – hot and dry Mediterranean summers that are more moderate near the coast and cold and damp Atlantic winters, especially in the northern highlands. Con- tributing to the creation of Mediterranean Portugal is the way its population adapts to the natural ele- ments of the land – slopes, heat and dryness, vege- tation layer and natural calamities (flooding, earth- quakes and water-borne endemics). The land and its people have been influenced by ancient civilisa- tions – Roman, Phoenician, Greek and Arabic – in the architecture, language, organisation of settlements, farm constructions to gather water, etc. The way of life of the Portuguese in the mid-20th cen- tury was based above all on agricultural and pastoral activity. For the rural population, food essentially came from growing cereals for bread and also from other less important crops. “The fields bear the most vigorous stamp of Portugal’s farming landscape … While bread, wine and olive oil are the three pillars of the diet in Mediterranean countries, cereals, the tradi- tional foundation of our farming, occupy first place.” Of cereal production, 48% is of wheat (Alentejo and Estremadura), which “is supplanting others” , 38% maize (Minho, Beira Alta and Litoral) and 14% rye (Trás-os-Montes and Beira Interior). Cereal cultiva- tion has transformed the landscape into different field types: the meadow-fields in Minho where irri- gated maize is grown; open fields with fallow land in the remote northeast and south; open fields with no fallow land; enclosed dry fields; and intercropped fields in the Ribatejo, Estremadura and Algarve with dry cereal cultivation between tree and shrub crops (e.g. vines and olive trees). Vines and olive trees are common features in the rural landscape: “ Vineyards today occupy a large part of our farming landscape … The main incentive for clearing poor, sloping and sandy land was to plant vines … Sandy land and slopes lend themselves well to growing vines and can be used for little else; even on poor land, the results are worth it … Vines today cover 344,000 hectares, 10% of all cultivated land … Portugal is the world’s fifth largest wine producer; it accounted for around a ¼ of the value of exports before the war and Port wine is without doubt the product that has earned most universal acclaim.” In relation to olive trees, he says: “The area covered by olive groves rose 85% between 1874 and 1934 … The number of olive trees today is over 40 million across 370,000 hectares, around 11% of farmland … The tree can be found everywhere and it adapts to all soils and climates, although it clearly prefers lime- stone soils and hot regions protected from sea winds … Estremadura, Ribatejo and the Alentejo produce 60% of all olives.” In addition to these, irrigated crops are also impor- tant: irrigated maize in Minho with its short sum- mers and heavy rainfall; and rice fields bathed by the waters of the Mondego and Sado rivers. Further south, the climate, particularly in the summer, is not conducive to irrigation, forcing man to find ways to capture water. Irrigated crops include citrus fruit in the Algarve and vegetable gardens around the country, especially in more densely populated areas, small spaces where various vegetables are grown as a staple diet. “The problem of water has concerned our greatest minds since the 17th century. The major effects of climate variations leading to disastrous flooding and long droughts can still be felt and only large-scale irrigation can mitigate them.” Land ownership varies essentially between the small- holdings in the north and centre, split into clearly defined small parcels, and the estates in the south, with large open areas of cultivation in the Alentejo plains where the first farm machinery replacing manual labour can be glimpsed. On these fields generally toil labourers from the poorest regions of the country, such as the “ratinhos” [mice] from the Beiras who “come from the poorest mountains in Portugal” to reap the cereals of the Alentejo, and the “caramelos” [toffees] of the Mondego Baixo and Ria de Aveiro who work the rice fields in the Sado val-