Spain: The potato from Campo de Cartagena progresses towards the future
The 1st Agroprofessional Meeting of the Cartagena Countryside Potato was held in the town of La Puebla. It was a debut for a tuber that has become an iconic product, one that faces daily challenges such as access to water.
Institutional support, promotional campaigns, and opening up new markets will be the formula for placing the potato from Campo de Cartagena in its rightful place. This was stated this Friday by the Mayor of Cartagena, Noelia Arroyo, on the occasion of the first Agroprofessional Meeting of the Potato from Campo de Cartagena, organized by Campo Magazine, where strengths and threats, health, and markets were analyzed.
Arroyo warned against threats, such as the reduction or elimination of the Tajo-Segura water transfer, but also highlighted the strengths of a product at the technological forefront of Europe. "Our extra-early potato has a natural competitive advantage, as it reaches European markets before others, and that is a strategic value that we must continue to enhance," he emphasized.
The day’s program included a roundtable discussion on "The Potato: An Asset of the Cartagena Countryside," with the participation of José Baños (farmer), Mónica Díez (Meléndez Potatoes), Fernando Córdoba (Cordoba Potatoes), Javier León (farmer), and José María Alcaraz (Los Churrascos Restaurant).
Susana Zapata, from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena, analyzed the "Incorporation of new technologies to optimize water use," while Mariano Soto, general secretary of the Campo de Cartagena Irrigation Community, will give a presentation on "The present and future of water in the Campo de Cartagena."
The second roundtable analyzed the "Challenges and Opportunities of the Campo de Cartagena Potato," with the participation of Mariano Soto, José La Rosa (CEO of Agriverde), Ángel Mateo (Lo Parreño Nature), Javier Amutio (CEO of Grupo Amutio), and farmer Antonio Sáez.
The meeting took place within the framework of the 16th La Puebla Potato Festival, which runs until Sunday, and provided an opportunity to learn the key aspects of an irrigation community that operates over a surface area of 42,000 hectares.
Irrigation in the Campo de Cartagena region is of fundamental economic and social importance, "generating a gross added value of almost €2.8 billion annually and providing employment to approximately 47,400 full-time workers," according to the mayor.
In addition to the 3,000 hectares dedicated to potatoes, irrigators also grow melons, artichokes, celery, and lettuce.
It was an opportunity to discuss water, but also health and market access, for which it is essential to strengthen the collaboration between farmers and operators, which, according to the speakers, is the "keystone" to delivering the product to the consumer with the quality they demand.
Fuente: revistacampo.es
