The town of Almendra is home to the only blackberry family farm in the province. A few years ago, Nuria Álvarez and his father set up Agroberry, a company devoted to the cultivation of blackberries. The market trends favouring this kind of product and the idea of healthy eating is what has motivated this young entrepreneur to get involved in the business.
She started with the project three campaigns ago, but it is now when it is really starting to yield results, since "we started the harvesting campaign, which has been very good, about a month earlier, in early June instead of in July, due to the high temperatures of recent weeks," stated Nuria Álvarez.
According to this young entrepreneur, the campaign has been "excellent, both in terms of production, which has been 30% greater than that of the previous season, and as far as product calibres are concerned." She actually hopes the blackberry production will exceed 500 kilos, despite the fact that "during the week that rained, it was not possible to harvest them, because if they get wet, they spoil, but thanks to the heat, we have been able to harvest the fruit a month earlier than in a normal campaign, so it has still been very good."
As pointed out by Nuria Álvarez, "blackberries are a delicate crop, although the bush is not." She explains that what harms this product the most "is the wind, because when it is in the growth stage, in the flowering, the branches are very sensitive, and it is at that moment when it can do the most damage to the crop and cause significant losses. Rainfall or hail can also make you lose your harvest if it rains a lot, but I have been lucky since I started with this project."
The marketing is always the most difficult part of this type of initiative, but the owner of Agroberry affirms that "this year I was very lucky, because I have been able to sell a lot of fresh produce during the fairs of San Pedro in Zamora and also to some restaurants, as well as some frozen ones for their use in baking. Customers are also becoming familiar with what I do and that helps a lot."
The farm consists of 2 hectares in a natural environment on the banks of the river Esla. The blackberries are cultivated, "and that's why they are larger than the wild ones, which draws the attention of the buyers," said Álvarez.
Nuria Álvarez is making a positive balance of her project "now that I see that I have such a good product. I know it is complicated, but I also know that I have to continue moving forward little by little, with a steady pace."
It should be recalled that, in spite of its "short life," the Agroberry project won an award last year in the 3rd Young Innovator Agricultural Producer Awards, organised by the agrarian union ASAJA; an award that was presented to Nuria Álvarez by the Minister of Agriculture, Isabel García Tejerina, and which acknowledged "the risky, innovative and daring work of this Zamoran entrepreneur."
Source: agronewscastillayleon.com
