GO POMODORO: Advanced and sustainable production to increase the value of industrial tomatoes in Extremadura, Andalusia and Murcia.

In Spain, droughts are cyclical phenomena, however, the general increase in temperatures as a consequence of global warming has caused, in recent years, longer and more intense periods than usual without rain. This generates considerable losses in the agricultural sector and forces the Administrations to establish restrictive measures regarding the use of water.

Therefore, improving the efficiency of water use in the field is a necessity. Processed tomato is a specialized activity mainly developed in Extremadura and Andalusia, being a stable and growing sector that occupies large rural areas and on which not only a high percentage of agriculture in Spain depends, but also a long-term value chain such as the industry of sauces based on natural tomatoes and the export sector of these products.

In the last year 2022, due to weather conditions, 2.1 billion kilos have been processed, which has led to a decrease of 34% compared to 2021. However, tomato industrialization maintains a stable growth in volume worldwide with 37,257 million kilos processed.

In particular, in terms of income, quality tomato sauce (homemade type, 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 ignored in a country like Spain, which accounts for an average of 10% of world production, so action is needed to improve the yields and quality of this product at a national level.