Eva Garcia Fabre, the Minister of Industry and Productivity of Ecuador, and Irina Cabezas, the technical secretary of the project Toda Una Vida, visited the province of Almeria to learn about its model of intensive agriculture, as the government of the Andean country consider it is a reference of the first order for its agrarian and socioeconomic development. The visit of the Ecuadorian delegation has been the result of previous contacts that Agrupaejido established months ago with Ecuador's institutional, business, and agricultural sectors.
After the visit, Eva Garcia Fabre praised the agricultural model of Almeria, and stated that the experience of companies like Agrupaejido could be very useful for a country like Ecuador.
Agrupaejido, a marketer from Almeria, organized a tour of the essential elements of Almeria's horticultural chain, highlighting those aspects that the Ecuadorian authorities had previously expressed a special interest in, as they had a direct relation with their most important strategic projects. As a result, the visit didn't only focus on agricultural or commercial issues, but also on other issues, such as the social components of the model or the role of public research.
After the institutional act, in which Minister Garcia Fabre and technical secretary Irina Cabezas got together with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Rodrigo Sanchez, and other authorities from Andalusia and Almeria, the Ecuadorian delegation visited the Agrupaejido center in the Poligono de la Redonda, in time for an auction, which allowed the visitors to learn first hand about this essential element in Almeria's fruit and vegetable trade. The president of Agrupaejido, Cecilio Guillén, explained to the delegation the key elements of the auction and the role that a center of this type, which is also the essence of the company, plays for the markets and for farmers. The Ecuadorian delegation also met and exchanged impressions with the territorial delegate of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Jose Manuel Ortiz Bono and the mayor of El Ejido, Francisco Gongoraat.
Then, the Ecuadorian delegation went to the Ifapa Center of La Mojonera, where it was received by its director Salvador Parra and by the territorial delegate. In this center, Garcia Fabra and Irina Cabezas learned about the this entity's main research lines in Almeria and, by extension, in the rest of the Community. The members of the delegation also visited the roof of Ifapa Almeria's scientific building, where they enjoyed a general view of the center's experimental farms and had an eloquent perspective of Almeria's famous plastic sea.
The visit continued at the nucleus of La Mojonera, where the delegation was received by the general director of Agrupaejido, Alex Guillen, who showed them a housing project that was part of the actions carried out in the sixties by the National Institute of Colonization. The delegation was interested in this project because of the possible similarities between it and the Agroviviendas project that the government of Ecuador is currently planning.
The Ecuadorian delegation also visited a greenhouse dedicated to the cultivation of California pepper in the area of Las Norias, which is linked to the activity of Agrupaejido. Technicians and farmers told the delegation about the main characteristics of Almeria's greenhouses. In addition, the delegation also learned about the application of biological control techniques, food safety levels, indoor climate conditions, the conformation of soils, and the importance of fertirrigation.
The last stage of the tour took place in the headquarters of Agrupaejido, located in La Mojonera. Alex Guillen accompanied the members of the delegation in a tour of the processing lines in full operation and other essential elements in the horticultural post-harvest. The delegation expressed their interest in the technification of the process and the ability to serve the most demanding markets, among other things.