The current health crisis in Spain has tested the strength and importance of the agricultural sector in Almeria, which is operating at full capacity. Work in the more than 30,000 hectares of greenhouses and in the trading companies continues, attending to all the measures required to maintain the health of workers and guarantee supplies throughout Europe.
All the auxiliary industry and associated biotechnology are necessary to maintain this enormous fruit and vegetable production site working. Almeria's intensive agriculture is more than used to implementing control systems aimed at food safety and the professional teams that work there are experts in methodologies and precautions of this nature.
On the other side of the value chain, the large distribution chains are recognizing this enormous work, in some cases, explicitly. The German company Lidl, for example, sent a letter to the Spanish fruit and vegetable sector congratulating them and encouraging them to continue their work for the duration of the COVID-19 threat.
Companies and businesses
Biological control companies continue to supply farmers and seedbeds with natural enemies, all under strict measures so that production continues at its own pace.
Some examples include Ecoculture Bioesciences, a company from Almeria specialized in bio-stimulants that maintains its activity; or Inagro, another Almerian firm specialized in the manufacture of nutrients, which continues to work hard to ensure the availability of its products in supply warehouses and cooperatives.
Breeders of plant varieties also continue working. Seed houses have combined telecommuting with the established precautionary measures and maintain their essential contribution to the fruit and vegetable sector. It should be noted that there are currently more than forty R&D centers in Almeria dedicated to the varietal improvement and that they form an outstanding part of the agricultural hub, such as Rijk Zwaan, Semillas Fito, Top Seeds, or Syngenta, among others.
Seedbeds also continue working.
Source: lavozdealmeria.com