This season, berry growers in the Spanish province of Huelva are once again facing 25% restrictions on irrigation from the start of the campaign. While this is an improvement over the 50% restriction with which they started last season, it still represents a major challenge for the sector and has led companies such as Natural Berry to rethink the distribution of berries on their farms to optimize water consumption and maximize yields with the available water.
"Strawberries were one of the berries we opted for at Natural Berry to be able to offer job stability to our workforce. My husband and I, both agricultural engineers, managed to put into practice all the advice and knowledge we normally shared with other companies in the sector," says Elisa Arazo, the company's manager.
"The crop is very interesting and exciting for me, although strawberries are currently going through a somewhat difficult situation. On the one hand, their production and harvesting are highly labor-intensive, and on the other, water restrictions have prevented us from doing things the way we would like to. Also, production costs are very high and, with the current market prices, margins are very slim," she says.
"That is why, after the drought and the problems we had last year to get the production going, with 50 and 25% restrictions on irrigation, this year we have decided to give up on strawberry production and fully devote ourselves to blueberry cultivation," says Elisa Arazo.
"Last season, production was very scarce because the drought affected us a lot. We produced 50% less fruit, and to this, we had to add the impact of imports on the blueberry market, which is causing us to become less competitive and reducing our profitability. Nonetheless, working with organic blueberries and high-value varieties has helped us differentiate ourselves and keep prices at acceptable levels."
"We are carrying out a pioneering organic initiative with bats"
Natural Berry's farm is located in the municipality of San Bartolomé de la Torre, in the province of Huelva, and it has both a forestry part in which the native flora of the Mediterranean forest has been preserved, and an agricultural part where the 6 hectares of blueberry crops in production are located. "As far as organic practices are concerned, we are also carrying out a pioneering initiative to protect the farm's biodiversity, setting up boxes to facilitate the establishment of populations not only of insectivorous birds and pollinators but also of bats," says Elisa. "We have observed that bats are capable of eliminating up to 100% of lepidopteran pests, contributing to a healthy and lively farm. Without having had to introduce them externally, we already host three different species of bats that help control pests in our blueberry plantations."
"We are also using a very common native leguminous plant in Huelva and Portugal, the tremosilla, for nitrogen fixing in the plots which were previously planted with strawberries, and which we'll use as green manure for our productions," she says.
"The decision to produce organically is in line with our philosophy and has helped us stand out in the export markets where we ship our fruit, mainly Germany and Austria. Since we face competition from third countries and our production period is adapted to the area's climate, our commitment has been to choose early varieties that could cover the period in which there are no large-scale imports, but which also stood out in terms of quality and had all the characteristics currently demanded by consumers."
"We are already harvesting the first blueberries".
"We are working with varieties like the Sekoya Pop, which we have already started harvesting. This variety has great potential and already yielded very satisfactory results last year, which was the first year we produced it, as well as very interesting demand. It has excellent flavor and large size, which makes it very attractive to consumers, and remarkable prices which are helping make up for the deficiencies of other varieties," says Elisa.
"Despite the fact that the market is looking for earlier and earlier varieties, the truth is that many of them don't currently have the flavor expected from a blueberry. As consumers, whenever we try a product that doesn't taste good, we don't buy it again. This is why retailers have to pick good products that will motivate consumers to come back for more. That's exactly what we are achieving with new varieties such as Sekoya Pop."
"We have very good prospects and we are looking forward to seeing this year's results. Variety replacement requires a significant investment, especially because new plantations take several years to start yielding fruit, and it's hard to face these periods without profits; however, our aim is to keep renewing our farm at the varietal level, because we see that the market demands blueberries with better properties. This will be the key to keeping Huelva in a competitive position," says Elisa Arazo.
For more information:
Natural Berry
C/ Los Barros, 16 A. San Bartolomé de la Torre, Huelva. Spain
Tel.: +34 627 509 147
[email protected]