Spain: “South Almond” under precision agriculture

The cooperative leader in the production of nuts of Andalusia, Almendrera South, with 4,200 farmer members and 20,000 hectares in production spread throughout the region, implement in their field test a new technology fertigation, which aims to ensure the most effective use water and fertilizers, under the agreement between the Foundation Caja Rural del Sur and technology company ‘Wise Irrisystem’, based in El Ejido (Almería).

It is therefore a clear commitment to precision agriculture, in order to test it and promote it among farmers to achieve a more efficient and higher quality production.

The project, in which South Almendrera participates, along with five other cooperatives in Andalusia, consists of different stages. In the first, which will start immediately, it will be out collecting soil samples on farms. Then, with the financial support of the Caja Rural del Sur Foundation, the installation of control equipment will be made and training farmers and technicians will be initiated by the technology company.

In a third phase, it will proceed to the interpretation of the results obtained from the analysis of soils and the determination of adequate irrigation, which will be the subject of a new educational session. Later, accompanied by monitoring corrective measures, whose aim will be to achieve maximum efficiency in fertigation, to be followed by a new formation will take place.

Finalized didactic sessions, it will be a comparative analysis of the results, which will allow farmers and the cooperative know quantitatively and qualitatively how technology implementation on farms and fields test results in greater efficiency in the consumption of water and fertilizers will be addressed, and in the production and quality of the beans.”

As soon as possible, we start with the technology implementation in experimental farms Almendrera, while we will try to develop an agreement with the Andalusian Institute for Agricultural Training and Pesquera (IFAPA) to all Andalusian almond can benefit from results we get, “says Antonio Hidalgo Ocaña, director of the cooperative.

Source: Almensur