The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Carmen Crespo, has valued the role of research that promotes the first Andalusian Strategy for the olive sector, a document that is being finalized with the help of public and private agents related to this sector. "The Strategy of the Olive grove has been worked and agreed and the measures that are taken will be made from all the data that we have", has pointed out the counselor, who has emphasized the importance of the scientific profile of this document, "in full debate on what type of olive grove we want, and it will be the scientists who will advise us on the real possibilities of transformation of the olive grove, for a better use and to arrive at an agriculture of precision and modernized".
Carmen Crespo has deepened in the importance of this roadmap for the olive sector at the closing of the meeting 'Agroinventio' on innovation in woody crops organized by the University of Cordoba (UCO), the School of Agricultural Engineering and Forestry (Etsiam) and the Prado Group. The Minister of Agriculture has publicly thanked the organizers for the implementation of this space for debate, "an example of the necessary public-private collaboration, which is the future for a growing society".
The event was attended by the delegate of the Government, Adolfo Molina Rascón; the president of the Prado Group, José Luis de Prado; the director of the School of Agricultural Engineering and Forestry (Etsiam), Rosa Gallardo; the Territorial delegate of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Francisco Ramón Acosta Rosa; the director of AGR Spain (Prado Group), Manuel López Ostos and the president of Dcoop, Antonio Luque.
For Carmen Crespo, the Olive Strategy is the key to the future of this strategic agri-food sector for Andalusia, "where the most advanced technologies for the use of by-products are present, so that we not only provide an environmental improvement that gives us greater traceability for our seal of circular economy, but also produce new income, so we cover the much needed chapter of profitability for the farmer. In this regard, he stressed the important step forward taken by cooperatives and private companies in this area, "which allows us to remain the most advanced agriculture in Europe, with environmental improvements and a clear example of circular economy", as well as highlighting the importance of internationalization and water efficiency.
During her speech, the Minister of Agriculture has put on the table the need for Next Generation funds to cover new innovation projects in irrigation, "only 560 million euros have been allocated, an insufficient amount if we want public-private collaboration to modernize the large irrigated lands of Andalusia and now we have a great opportunity to carry it out".
Reclaimed water for the olive groves of Cordoba
The head of Agriculture of the Andalusian Government has highlighted the important commitment of the Junta de Andalucía for reclaimed water for irrigation of crops such as olive groves. "We are working in 71% of the towns in the province of Cordoba in the purification of their wastewater, which means 126 hm3 new", says Carmen Crespo, who points to the study of new formulas to increase the use of reclaimed water in the Guadalquivir basin to meet the demand for water balance.
"85% of olive cultivation in Andalusia is in this basin, so its modernization requires both this and other practices that reduce the water footprint, such as the ability to dam water, both in large areas and in smaller ones, for farmers and companies, which can be given water security in their farms," said the counselor.
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