AVA-ASAJA addresses the challenges and opportunities of the green sector
The headquarters of the Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA) hosted on Wednesday a meeting of producers of organic farming and livestock to address the challenges and opportunities of a sector that makes its way into the Valencian Community. Around 100 people attended the event in which there were numerous successful cases in different crops and livestock of people who have joined the organic production and have managed to close the circle of marketing their products.
The organization, a benchmark in the Valencian Community for having the largest number of producers in ecological, addressed the challenges of organic farming at the fertilization level by the hand of Fidel Expósito and Marcos Alberto Manzanera, who made known the nutrients and fertilizers that the regulation allows to use in organic production. Experts stressed that the importance of fertilization does not lie solely in the nutrition of the plant, but also is a key element to prevent pests and diseases.
One of the most important points of the meeting was the need to close the circle that goes from production to commercialization and for this sector had the personal experience of producers who have managed to complete the process and sell their products in ecological. Vicente Ibáñez Andrés; He presented his experience in the cultivation of citrus and persimmon in ecological, María Ángeles Novella, owner of a winery made known its cultivation of the vineyard and elaboration of ecological wine; Salvador Martínez, explained his case as olive producer and organic oil processor; Antonio Gimeno, member of the board of directors of AVA-ASAJA spoke about his cultivation of the organic tiger nut and its commercialization; Miguel Minguet, head of the rice sector of AVA-ASAJA explained his activity in the cultivation of organic rice and its commercialization; and José Francisco Ramírez described his day-to-day as an ecological rancher.
In addition to all these success stories, the associate of AVA-ASAJA, Adolfo García Sánchez, who has received two awards for innovation for his ecological products transformation company, also intervened. All the cases served to highlight the difficulties that have been encountered when introducing to organic production and how they have achieved an interesting economic return at the end of the road, as well as the satisfaction of carrying out their activity in respect to the environment.
Ecological agriculture and livestock are nowadays a market niche that can provide an opportunity for the small and scattered farms that predominate in the Valencian Community, where the average of the surface is approximately 5 hectares, while in the rest of Spain is 12 hectares. It is also an attraction for young people who join the agricultural sector and allows the generational change so important in the Valencian countryside, where the average age of farmers is around 65 years.
At the end of the event, attendees were able to taste organic products from two of the speakers who made their success stories known: María Ángeles Novella and Salvador Martínez. On the other hand, Novella offered its wines in ecological Aniceta (Bobal de Ángeles) and Vitis Miguel de María, and Martínez its organic oil Mozaira from the almazara of Hermanos Martínez Zaballos. In addition, Món Orxata also contributed its fresh natural horchata of organic tiger nut.
The next meeting of the sector of organic agriculture of AVA-ASAJA will take place in September and will analyze the main pests in crops in ecological, as well as the main changes in the new regulations by the hand of some expert of the administration to be able to exchange the concerns of the producers and the weaknesses they face, such as the lack of a cutting room for organic livestock that forces some producers to sell their product as conventional.
