News > Agribusiness depletes soil, water resource in Portugal’s Alentejo

Agribusiness depletes soil, water resource in Portugal’s Alentejo

Even with subsidies from the EU and funding from the Portuguese state and a state-owned bank, the 550-hectare greenhouses went bankrupt ending with an estimated $30m loss.

Roussel fled Portugal, leaving his debts behind, the land littered with plastic and the soil eroded by the heavy use of agrochemicals. But foreign companies have started investing in turning the region into a hub for intensive monoculture farming.