© La UnióThe Bonicoop project, led by the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research in partnership with La Unió Llauradora i Ramadera and Semilleros Cucala Agrícola S.L., is making progress in developing a comprehensive model for sustainable and competitive sweet potato production in the Valencia Region. The initiative was created to strengthen the crop amid current main challenges: the high rate of viruses, increasing water scarcity, and market pressure from other countries.
The project addresses a strategic need in production. Sweet potato vegetative propagation has led to virus buildup in plantations, lowering yields and quality. Meanwhile, climate change is causing more frequent droughts in Mediterranean areas, endangering varieties developed elsewhere. Additionally, international competition requires Valencian production to stand out through quality, sustainability, and value.
© La Unió
Bonicoop presents a structural approach built on three key pillars: plant health, water resilience, and differentiation through organoleptic quality. In the initial phase, IVIA will use advanced in vitro culture techniques for meristematic apices, combined with molecular diagnostics, to produce virus-free plants of the main commercial varieties and new hybrids created through its breeding programs. This effort aims to establish a reliable system for producing healthy mother plants that offer traceability and phytosanitary assurance.
The expected result is to develop and register varieties that are resistant to water scarcity, suitable for organic production, and of differentiated quality. Additionally, they focus on creating a structured sanitation and plant-supply system to boost productivity and reduce reliance on phytosanitary inputs. The goal is to enhance the competitiveness of Valencian sweet potatoes, improve farm profitability, and solidify production in accordance with sustainability principles and climate change adaptation.
La Unió Llauradora i Ramadera plays a crucial role in coordinating field trials, transferring results, and organizing technical conferences for growers and technicians. Its goal is to ensure that innovations lead to tangible improvements for the sector and to strengthen the position of sweet potato as a key crop in Valencian horticulture.
The ORUJO+ project was funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Program for Comunitat Valenciana 2021-2027. It also received support from the Valencian Agency for Agricultural Promotion and Guarantee for rural development interventions under the Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy (PEPAC) 2023-2027 (reference AGCOOP/2025/0014), with a total budget of €77,656.27. La Unió contributed €20,444.81.
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