In the south of the Basque Country, both the value of production and employment fell from 7.9% of Basque GDP to 3.9%; and employment fell from 17.1% to 11.1% of the total.
In the case of the BAC, employment went from 96,653 in 1955 to 50,474 in 1975. In Navarre, employment fell from 41.1% of the total in 1960 to 24.8% in 1973.
The area cultivated varied according to the type of product. Wheat, which occupied 133,000 hectares in 1960, is decreasing. Barley increased its cultivated area to 76,000 hectares in 1970.
Livestock farming accounted for 40% of the value of agricultural production, with cattle, sheep and pigs accounting for a significant proportion.
The forestry sector is also increasing its share of the final value of agricultural production, with a large increase in the area planted with pine trees.
There was a certain industrialisation of agriculture. In 1962 there were 4,533 tractors and in 1972 there were 14,016 tractors and 6,331 power tillers.
In terms of employment, despite the downward trend, in 1975, there were still around 100,000 farmers in the south of the Basque Country.
Following A. Cendrero (1985), it is worth pointing out two chronic problems in Basque agriculture. The rural exodus, a phenomenon affecting the whole of Europe as a result of industrialisation, has led to a general decline in the number of farms, the ageing of the rural population and a decrease in the active population working in the primary sector.
Decrease in the active population (% of the total active population)Years Navarre Alava Bizkaia Gipuzkoa The North Basque Country1968 29,7% 17,5% 10,2% 10,4% 22,7%1975 19,3% 7,8% 4,4% 5,7% 13,7%From the 1960s onwards, there has been an acceleration, especially in the case of Alava and Navarre, since they had maintained a more rural structure in the present century.
The causes of the rural exodus are to be found in the large amount of work required by farms, which is not economically compensated, and the attraction of urban life.
With regard to the decrease in the number of farms, the most serious case was that of Gipuzkoa, since in the period 1962-1972 there were 34% losses. Álava recorded 32.6% in the same period, while in the North Basque Country 1955 and 1976, 30% of farmhouses had disappeared.
In the oceanic environment, the most serious disadvantages for the adaptation of farms to a competitive agricultural structure are the scarcity of arable land due to the abundance of slopes, smallholdings and part-time work.
Smallholdings, which are not exclusive to this environment, are notable in Bizkaia, where in 1970 84% of farms had less than 10 hectares. In Gipuzkoa the percentage was 63.3% in the same year. The average surface area per farm in 1972 was approximately 5 hectares in the case of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia, while in Iparralde the average was 8 hectares in coastal Lapurdi and reached 16 hectares in Nafarroa Beherea and Zuberoa, according to data from 1976.
In 1975, part-time work (main job in industry and supplementary work on the farm) was found on 52% of farms in Bizkaia, 36% in Gipuzkoa and 50% in coastal Lapurdi. In addition to smallholdings (70% of farms in Navarre had less than 10 ha. in 1970), the Mediterranean area is excessively parcelled out.
Despite the efforts made by the I.R.Y.D.A. (Institute for Agrarian Reform and Development) in its land consolidation programme, plots of more than 5 ha accounted for only 3.2% of the total in Navarre, according to the 1972 census. In that year, there were 288,402 ha of dry land and 66,610 ha of irrigated land in Navarre, and the forestry surface area reached 271,066 ha. The percentage of the working population in the agricultural sector was 41.5% of the total in 1960 and fell to 25.3% in 1970, which is higher than in the other Basque territories. As for the land tenure , in 1972, 75% of the total volume of land registered (980,051 ha) was owned; 13.1% was rented and 3% was sharecropped, leaving 8.9% for other forms of tenure. It should be noted that agricultural cooperatives as a form of farming were very widespread in Navarre.
The main disadvantages of traditional farming s were the scarcity of organic fertiliser and the precariousness of the tools used, within extensive s that obtained low yields per hectare. It was the appearance of chemical fertilisers and the mechanisation of work that led to agricultural specialisation.
In the oceanic environment, mechanisation was not as important as in other areas of the country. Due to the relief, only small machines (mechanical mules, motor mowers, etc.) were accepted in this environment, while due to the difficulty of cultivating the slopes it was not uncommon to find animal traction in the hamlets. Another peculiarity of the oceanic environment was the low consumption of chemical fertilisers, a phenomenon that can be explained by the specialisation of livestock farming in this area. Indeed, given the abundance of organic fertiliser, it was preferable to invest in compound feed or fodder plants, as these would eventually become fertiliser for the plots. Crop rotations based on maize, turnips and other fodder plants were common in this environment.
In the Mediterranean area, the high consumption of chemical fertilisers was notable. In 1975, Álava and Navarre consumed 91% of the total amount of nitrogen fertilisers marketed. The use of large machines (combine harvesters, balers, mowers, etc.), which speed up the work extraordinarily, was widespread during this period.
As regards cereal cultivation, the biennial rotation with fallow or year and time was maintained. Mediterranean irrigation with the old canals of Tauste and Imperial, to which were added those of Lodosa and Las Bárdenas, allowed the high river terraces to be cultivated.
In The North Basque Country, agriculture absorbed 11,570 jobs in 1975.
Traditional livestock farming was centred on sheep farming, followed by cattle, with the maintenance of goats and horses in general. Livestock farming in the 20th century has developed cattle farming in particular and, from the 1960s onwards, industrial pig and poultry farming. Sheep farming is still in existence, but horses and goats are in clear decline.
The decline in the number of heads of cattle is particularly affecting horses, goats and sheep. There is also a decline in cattle, as the replacement of old breeds with new ones means that production can be maintained or increased with fewer animals. Pigs and poultry are the only species that have increased in number in recent times.
In 1968, the cattle herd in southern Euskal Herria was estimated at 264,804 heads, while in 1977 the total was 216,271 heads, a decrease of 18.3%. The sheep herd fell from 757,105 heads in 1968 to 559,620 in 1977, a decrease of 20.8% in the nine-year period.
Smallholdings, which affect cattle, are linked to the crisis of the oceanic farm. According to data provided by Miren Etxezarreta, 88% of the farms in Gipuzkoa and Vizcaya had less than 10 heads of cattle in 1975. In the south of Euskal Herria the average number of heads per farm was 8.9 in 1976, with the peculiarity that this fell to 7 heads per farm in the cases of Nafarroa Beherea and Zuberoa.
These are therefore livestock farms that are not very competitive and the figures for milk production per hectare are given as an example. In Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia and in Iparralde the yields were 5,000 litres per hectare. In Brittany, however, they reached almost 10,000 litres, while in Holland (Alto Bravante) even more than 18,000 litres per hectare were obtained.
Cattle farming is, without a doubt, the most important part of the sector in Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia and Iparralde. Individual farming methods and stable or semi-stable s predominate, where a series of improvements have been introduced to intensify production: introduction of new breeds, selection of species through artificial insemination, and feed control to a greater or lesser degree. The importance of the Lur Berri cooperative in Iparralde should be noted.
The ancient Pyrenean breed of native origin, which was previously predominant, was gradually displaced by other specialized breeds. The Friesian or Dutch breed is exclusively used for dairy production, which reaches up to 5,000 liters per head. Also used for dairy production, but maintaining meat production, is the brown-alpine or Swiss breed. The first has been promoted since the 1950s, while the second began to develop at the end of the 19th century. The Aragonese breed has been introduced in the dairy sector, which is frequently crossbred with the Pyrenean breed and is very abundant in Iparralde. In Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia, the Friesian breed was predominant, followed by the brown-alpine breed.
As regards production, in the north of the Basque Country the most profitable occupation is meat production. On the other hand, in the south the most important activity is dairy production, with Bizkaia being the most important. Of the total milk produced in the whole of the Basque Country in 1976, 87.7% came from the south.
Bizkaia and Navarra stand out for their importance in terms of cattle, followed by the north of Euskal Herria and then Gipuzkoa, according to data from 1976. The Alava cattle are not very important. It is worth highlighting the increase in the number of heads and in production that Navarra has experienced in the decade of the 70s.
In Iparralde, agricultural production still had a certain economic weight. In 1970, there were 294,000 sheep, 76,000 heads of cattle, and 68,000 pigs.
Industrial pig and poultry farming began to gain momentum. The province of Navarre is at the forefront of production of both livestock species. On the other hand, sheep farming retains the old farming s, in most cases: grazing and transhumance. Related to this type of livestock farming is the maintenance of communal pastures (land pastures, unions, parzoneras, mancomunidades and valley unions) especially notable in Navarre, Lava and in the north of Euskal Herria.
There are basically two breeds adapted to different bioclimatic environments. In the oceanic part, the lacha breed predominates, which is naturally specialized in milk production. The churra breed, which is intended for meat production, is typical of the Mediterranean environment, although due to its strong character it is also found in the Pyrenean valleys of Navarre (Roncal, Salazar...). The Basque-Bearnese or Carranza breed also appears, and to a much lesser extent, the Merino breed, south of La Lava.
According to the 1976 census, the province of Navarra was home to 53.2% of the total number of herds, including Iparralde. The number has decreased by 25% compared to 1968. The herds of Iparralde and Lava are also still important.
The products obtained are mainly milk-based. Cheese production in the country has experienced a certain development in relation to an increase in demand. Navarra stands out in terms of meat production.