Estimation of the economic impact of Xylella fastidiosa in Aragon

The appearance of Xylella fastidiosa in 2017 in the Iberian Peninsula has caused growing concern in regions such as Aragon, with a large area of crops sensitive to bacteria and of great economic importance. The aim of this paper is to estimate the economic impact of a potential infection of X. fastidiosa in Aragon under two scenarios: unconfirmed (current situation) and confirmed presence. The information on private and public costs is collected to evaluate the economic impact of the implementation of preventive measures to avoid the introduction and spread of X. fastidiosa in woody crops, alfalfa fields, nurseries and truffle-oaks plantations. Also, a map of potential infection risk by agricultural regions is shown. The results show that private costs per province and crop range between 745 and 5,193 (sic)/ha in irrigated land and between 136 and 3,407 (sic)/ha in dry land. The costs per infection outbreak amount to 600,000(sic) in the case of affecting woody crops, to which 31,958 (sic)/ha would have to be added if a nursery was affected and between 500 and 90,000 (sic)/ha in case of a truffle-oaks plantation.