Almeria's Union of Agricultural Producers (UNA) was established in April 2019 to manage the foundation of a new exploitation model in the Almeria countryside and the southeast of the peninsula.
Small and medium-sized producers, mainly, were forced to unite to face and find solutions to the complex problems that the region's agricultural sector faces.
Production costs are getting higher
Coexphal has been warning of the constant decline in profitability that has affected Almeria's products for some time. Profit margins are getting narrower due to stagnant prices in recent decades and constantly rising production and labor costs. Increasing production has been, until now, the main strategy to subsist. However, the increasing competition from other markets, mainly Morocco and the Netherlands, makes it even more difficult to guarantee the prosperity of the region's agricultural sector.
Almeria's endemic water problem
During the last three decades, as water resources become more scarce, producers have gone from accounting for 2% of the region's water use to nearly 10% at present. Since this situation needs to be approached from other complementary and alternative ways, UNA and the University of Almeria are working together to study the situation and find solutions.
Migration and the countryside
Another problem that the world of agriculture must tackle has to do with migration. UNA has also put in place a plan to work together and collaborate with public administrations to find solutions to this critical issue.
Marketing: the need to decongest the market
UNA's main strategy in commercial terms is to look beyond close borders and expand markets. The association is working to export the region's products to the Asian market.
Europe is already allocating resources, waiting for a common project to export outside the euro community, and to promote the region's products. Another of the association's main challenges is accelerating this process and having an important presence in Almeria's countryside with the crucial support of institutions.
In short, UNA is faced with the challenge of harmonizing and unifying the region's agricultural sector to find solutions to the common problems that affect the sector. The association is convinced that unions bring strength and, as such, they will participate in the national strike caravan on February 24.