Small companies are betting on change and on the transition from traditional crops to organic crops. "It is not easy, it takes time and effort, but it is totally possible," explains José Antonio Arenas, of Señorío de la Vega. Consumers are also increasingly perceiving the difference and demanding more organic products. "We have sold absolutely all the production we had and, had we had 50% more, we would have sold it, too," explains Arenas.
This producer from Cordoba and his agronomist are implementing a number of different techniques. The main goal is to stop using chemicals and rely only on 100% natural fertilizers and treatments. For example, flies caused considerable damage in the past and chemical treatments were used to tackle them, he explains. However, they have practically not had any this year. "We believe that the treatments work, because we know that, elsewhere, there have been flies. We have instruments to check how much population there has been and that is the test we needed," states Arenas.
The stone fruit campaign has not been the best in recent years. However, "those of us producing plums started working at around 1 Euro and we finished the campaign at 0.80 Euro. We can say that the average has been 85 cents, and with that average in a terrible year, it has been a good balance for us," concludes Arenas.
For more information:
José Antonio Arenas Molina
Señorío de la Vega
Tel.: +34 629 131 480