POMODORO Operational Group: Advanced and sustainable production to increase the value of industrial tomatoes in Extremadura, Andalusia, and Murcia.
- Type Operational group
- Status In progress
- Execution 2024 -2027
- Assigned Budget 599.540,00 €
- Scope Supraautonómico
- Autonomous community Andalucía; Extremadura; Murcia, Región de
- Main source of financing CAP 2023-2027
- Project website GO POMODORO
POMODORO is a project that brings innovative agricultural technologies and techniques with a high social and environmental impact to the industrial tomato sector. POMODORO will lead the transfer of results to producers in the regions of Andalusia, Extremadura, and Murcia, promoting sustainable water and soil management, with the goal of achieving a comprehensive adaptation of the industrial tomato value chain to the climatic, economic, and social realities of the 21st century.
The central focus of the POMODORO project is to increase water efficiency in production through non-conventional irrigation systems for seasonal crops to address the current water shortage in the sector in Spain (OE1+OE5).
Development of three experimental platforms (EP) in three regions: Extremadura, Andalusia, and Murcia. Each one will be developed with a different objective, serving as demonstration tools for the development of educational and outreach activities. The main agronomic objective of the PEMurcia is to evaluate the capacity of irrigation systems to impact the productivity of invested resources and how resource management can affect the quality of the final product.
In Spain, droughts are cyclical phenomena; however, the widespread rise in temperatures as a result of global warming has, in recent years, led to longer and more intense periods without rain than usual. This generates significant losses in the agricultural sector and forces governments to establish restrictive measures regarding water use. Therefore, improving the efficiency of water use in the countryside is essential. Processing tomatoes is a specialized activity primarily developed in Extremadura and Andalusia. This is a growing, stable sector that occupies large rural areas and supports not only a high percentage of Spanish agriculture, but also a long-standing value chain, such as the natural tomato sauce industry and the export sector of these products.
In 2022, due to weather conditions, 2.1 billion kilos were produced, a 34% decrease compared to 2021. However, tomato processing maintains stable volume growth worldwide, with 37.257 billion kilos processed. Specifically, in terms of revenue, quality tomato sauce (homemade, as opposed to concentrated tomato) is the growing market that has multiplied its turnover the most in the last 10 years, due to its numerous applications in the food industry. This market advantage for farmers cannot be overlooked in a country like Spain, which accounts for an average of 10% of global production, so action is needed to improve the yields and quality of this product nationwide.
The main objective of PEAndalucía is to enable the development of a digital decision-support tool for farmers with different working conditions, evaluating the capacity of irrigation systems and autonomous irrigation and nutrition management to impact crop profitability and productivity.
- The main objective of the Extremadura Project is to evaluate the profitability and sustainability of multi-season irrigation systems, with an emphasis on establishing and defining the work required for the reuse, evaluation, and storage of irrigation systems for use in different seasons.
- Collect data for impact reports and sustainable practices in the processing tomato sector.
- Dissemination plan through the Community of Practice as a knowledge transfer tool.
The main expected results are to achieve greater profitability in tomato production for industry and farmers, optimize costs and factors that can be addressed: water consumption, energy, and improved fertilizer utilization.
In particular, other results/findings:
- Design criteria for highly efficient precision irrigation systems applied to industrial tomato cultivation, where water availability and quality are limited.
- A digital tool to support producer decision-making and enable them to establish safe, sustainable, and effective agricultural practices.
- Case study of experimental platforms defining the specific problems of the sector and producers, the solutions proposed, and the results obtained.
- Impact report on implemented agricultural practices.
- Report on the needs and barriers perceived by producers and new farmers that limit their sustainability.
- Guide to strategies and business models based on the production model proposed by POMODORO to resolve perceived barriers.
- Promote the widespread use of agricultural techniques to increase the value of processed tomatoes, the final quality of the product, and the sustainability of the sector and its production chain by sharing the results and promoting opportunities in the sector, with a special emphasis on young people.
- Coordinator/entity name: APAG EXTREMADURA YOUNG FARMERS AND RANCHERS
- Postal address: AV. PORTUGAL PG. CEPANSA, Badajoz
- Coordinator/entity email: central@apagextremadura.com
- Telephone: 924389386
Main recommendations for the professionals involved are: The added value for the end user in the processing industry is the reduction of the deficit of tomatoes in the field in relation to industrial demand and being able to count on a stable and quality production, controlling the supply. Secondly, the benefits for farmers will be savings in costs and resources (water, fertilizers) thanks to the innovative underground irrigation system and agronomic management of the crop. The improvement in productivity and profitability of farmers in addition to promoting agricultural entrepreneurship in the sector. Improvement of the logistics organization, good practices from Extremadura will be collected to the rest of the territory, will improve the position of producers and generate employment
- APAG EXTREMADURA JOVENES AGRICULTORES Y GANADEROS
- APAG EXTREMADURA JOVENES AGRICULTORES Y GANADEROS
- AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
- SISTEMA AZUD S.A.
- TEPRO CONSULTORES AGRICOLAS, S.L.
- TEPRO EXTREMADURA S.L.
- HIDA ALIMENTACIÓN S.A.
- EVERGRANT GESTIÓN DE PROYECTOS S.L.
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