Agriculture continues to be the cornerstone of the economy of Almeria's municipality of El Ejido, which leads the province in terms of the number of agricultural holdings. The municipality has nearly 13,100 hectares of greenhouses that 1,330,000 tons of fruits and vegetables a year, always complying with all the maximum health, traceability, and food safety parameters.
Strategic pillar
According to the mayor of the ejido, Francisco Gongora: “This very positive data confirms that El Ejido continues to be a strategic pillar of the province and agriculture offers direct employment to 48% of the population. In addition, the processing companies and the handling sector employ about 11,000 people in the 64 companies that exist in the municipality."
Gongora highlighted the great work that the fruit and vegetable sector has done in terms of modernization, quality, and innovation, as well as its commitment to excellence in the last two seasons, despite the circumstances. "The sector has not ceased its activity during the pandemic in order to supply Spanish and European households with the highest quality fruit and vegetables, thus contributing to position the sector as the main health producer.”
Upgrade greenhouses
In addition, many producers have requested licenses to upgrade greenhouses and also to construct them, although to a lesser extent, always with the intention of turning these farms into increasingly technical work centers.
“Our farmers are interested in modernizing and innovating in this area to continue increasing the quality of the fruits and vegetables they produce. The City Council is also working to achieve this goal, putting all the resources that are within our reach so producers can obtain these licenses as soon as possible,” stated Gongora.
Source: diariodealmeria.es
