Lanzarote's agriculture is shaped by dry farming systems that rely on volcanic gravel and marine-origin sands, which conserve limited rainfall. Crops such as sweet potatoes and watermelons are cultivated under these conditions, with soils protected by layers of volcanic gravel or organogenic sand that maintain humidity.
Ascensión Robayna, farmer and collaborator with the Agrarian Transformation Society (SAT), El Jable, explained that "today, in dry land and obeying the traditional cultivation systems, the agriculture that is being done is not very significant because it has not rained." She added that cultivation now requires limited supplementary water: "It is not about doing irrigated agriculture, but about accompaniment to simulate a nature that we had so that we continue to conserve the soils."
Beneath the gravel, Lanzarote soils are described as fertile bermeja. Robayna noted, "The soils are sheltered, that is the secret of Lanzarote," which allows fertility to remain despite scarce rainfall. With reduced rainfall in recent years, she emphasized that conserving soil cover is essential to maintain productivity.
Agricultural technical engineer Teno Osorio explained that the island's soil profile "is like a cake, the upper layer is formed by the sand and the lower one by the clay, the more layers of sand it has, the more capacity it has to store water." Historically, farmers planted after checking soil humidity and left the land fallow to build reserves.
SAT El Jable promotes organic farming, pointing out that chemical residues are not washed out in dry areas as they are in rainy regions. This approach is viewed as necessary for the island's conditions.
The dry farming system produces concentrated flavors in crops such as grapes, melons, sweet potatoes, and watermelons. Robayna explained, "A watered grape or sweet potato has a lot of water; they have less quality, and if everything is concentrated because it hardly rains, that translates into flavor." Limited irrigation is still required to emulate natural rainfall.
In May 2024, Lanzarote's agricultural systems received recognition as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System for practices including the natural sanding of La Geria, the artificial sanding of the north, and the cultivation on organogenic sands of El Jable.
In the Soo area, the Pata Negra watermelon variety is now most common, though muscatel watermelon was grown in the past. Osorio noted that climate change and reduced rainfall now make irrigation essential, especially for watermelon, which is more water-dependent than sweet potato. New plantations are also emerging in Guatiza and Tinajo, some in ecological systems. Osorio highlighted that Lanzarote's high number of sunlight hours increases photosynthesis and sugar accumulation in crops.
Source: LaVoz