Lettuce - Primaflor, Spain
Introduction
The amazing array of technology and good practices at play here show what is truly possible in the production of agricultural products. There are practices that have been put in place because they have an economic benefit, but what has also been considered is the beneficial impact that they have on the environment. Reducing the requirements of fertilisers, pesticides and water is one of the most important and pressing sustainability aspects of modern agriculture and Primaflor have taken up this challenge.
Karl Williams
Primaflor was originally founded in the 1970s and produced flowers and vegetables. In the 1980s the business expanded and the focus changed to producing leaf vegetables. The business is currently farming some 2,500 hectares of land in Grenada, Spain, growing around 55 different vegetable varieties. Iceberg lettuce comprises around 80-85% of the production, equating to around 50,000 tonnes of Iceberg produced annually (in current terms, 10% of Spain’s total production). In 2007 the business had sales of almost €100 million. There are 1,800 workers employed over the season, picking some 180 million pieces of lettuce. The summer growing area, which is located in farms near Sierra Nevada (Granada) at an altitude of 1,100 metres, provides ideal summer growing conditions and avoids the problem of hot summer temperatures which causes bolting and leaf damage. The volume of iceberg lettuce per week is 70% less compared with the winter season and only the Spanish market is supplied during this period.
The water/fertiliser solution applied through the irrigation system is one of the greater costs to the business, making up around 20% of the total production cost.
The farm “Fatima” has been selected by the company as their representative for the flagship farms project and covers an area of 212 hectares, with 135 hectares planted with Iceberg lettuce.