The first technical table of the second day of the forum coincides in highlighting the sector as “sustainable for using resources efficiently”
Female talent is on strong footing in the agri-food sector which, without standing out in management and responsibility positions for the same cultural and gender reasons that influence most economic activities, leaves evidence of the experience and know-how of women as the engine of progress and adaptation to new consumer trends and demands of the moment.
A reflection of this growing reality was the technical table ‘Experiences and challenges of the sector’, in which three agricultural professionals presented, in a dynamic talk moderated by the journalist from LA VERDAD, Pilar Benito, the strategies of environmentally sustainable agricultural production and the management of water resources that they carry out from their different areas of action, and how to face their own challenges in the face of the panorama that is presented.
Ana Hernández, an agricultural engineer belonging to the third generation of the owner of Grupo Hortofrutícola Paloma, defends a circular economy, with hydroponic crops and efficient use of fertilizers to avoid CO2 emissions. However, she calls for reflection on the starting point of each farmer when it is demanded that they not use fertilizers or restrict water, because these are measures that “are already implemented. You cannot reduce water by 30% when you are already saving. European agriculture is a leader for its quality, sustainability and innovation, but the regulations are very strict and in the end the only thing that is achieved is unfair competition with third countries », she stated.
The manager and general secretary of the Levante Margen Izquierda del Segura Irrigation Community, Belén Castellano, focused on the intervention of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, during the first session of these conferences. «I would have liked to ask Morán how an issue that affects the Spanish Levante can be managed from Madrid. The transfer is being questioned because no one has come to touch land, hence the importance of these meeting forums so that we give a voice to the more than 11,000 farmers and families who see their jobs in danger, “she said.
The “badly called intensive agriculture of the Mediterranean” for the general director of agriculture, food industry and agricultural cooperatives of the Region of Murcia, Remedios García, occupied a prominent place. García insisted that the bad reputation of this system is due to «ignorance. We have to promote our potential from all areas.”
In this regard, Hernández indicated that intensive agriculture is not synonymous with pollution as is popularly believed. On the contrary, “it is a sustainable system that uses resources efficiently.” «We have to be realistic -he added- with an organic farming model we cannot feed all of Europe. Furthermore, this system generates a very high water footprint.”
For her part, Belén Castellano encouraged “removing complexes and putting on medals, because there is no one who cares more for the countryside than a farmer, who produces safe, close and healthy food, and we are going to make them disappear.”
#agricultural #professionals #defend #watches #field #farmer