Two business partners farm in San Bartolomé 28 hectares of blueberries, a unique plantation on the island and unknown to many Canarians. Potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, bananas, watercress, zucchini, carrots, coffee or almonds. The orchard of Gran Canaria It has numerous productions that vary depending on the municipality and climatic conditions. And to all this is added the blueberry, a fruit that usually grows in the north of Europe, but it has also been cultivated in the island's fields for eight years, to the surprise of many of the Canarians.

Emerald Spider She is 26 years old and is in charge of organizing the work teams; Ariadna Curbelo She is 27 years old and is a team supervisor and Tibisay Santana 22 years old and is responsible for pest control and collector.

All three are young, with responsibilities in their jobs, make up the new generation of workers of agriculture and have something in common: from their different positions they are dedicated to the cultivation of blueberries, a fruit whose plantation in Juan Grande, in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, It is as unique on the island as it is largely unknown to many of the islanders., despite extending over an area of ​​28 hectares, that is, 28 football fields.

The three young women have been two and six years in your company, a company to which they arrived with no knowledge about the agricultural sector, but where they have received all the necessary training to progress. They embarked on a company that is dedicated to the cultivation of a fruit that is not planted in any other area of ​​the Canary Islands, except in Tenerife, where the first experiments are being carried out. It was in 2016 when the company S&A Canblues SL, made up of the British group S&A and the Canary Islands Bonny, was launched aiIntroduce the cultivation of common blueberries on the island to "explore new productions", Explain David Ortega, responsible for Quality of the company, and go beyond the tomato and cucumber that have traditionally been grown in the greenhouse extensions of the southeast and south of Gran Canaria.

«We wanted to explore new harvest windows», he maintains, in relation to the fact that this fruit is grown in the north of the European continent between the months of May and October, during times of higher temperatures, while on the island it is harvested precisely in the opposite season, between October and May. The company started the project with a few plants and already has 28 hectares with 115.000 pots distributed in eleven greenhouses. And it plans to continue growing.

PRODUCTION

In October the flowering of the plants begins and in December is when it begins to bear its first fruits, about 2,5 kilos per copy, which can be harvested up to ten times in the five months that the blueberry harvest lasts. Since this fruit began to be planted, production has not stopped growing: in 2023 it reached 220 tons and for this year Ortega estimates that around 250 tons of blueberries will be produced of the evergreen variety. Of that amount, 10% remains on the islands for distribution in supermarkets and 90% is sent to the United Kingdom, from where it is distributed to countries such as Germany, Holland or France.

Regarding the planting conditions, while in Europe it is usually grown outdoors, in Juan Grande it is done under a greenhouse to protect the bushes from the wind, it is maintained at an average temperature of 25 degrees, no more and no less so that the plant Don't stress, and supply plenty of water.

Qualities

To guarantee the quality of the blueberry, explains David Ortega, it is necessary that it reaches the size of a one euro coin, that it looks a blue-purple color, that Its texture is slightly crunchy when you take the first bite and it has a sweeter and less acidic flavor. This fruit has antioxidant properties and is an important source of vitamins. In the supermarket it is about 25 euros per kilo. And despite everything, many are unaware of its origin in Gran Canaria. "Blueberry production on the island is a great unknown," says Ortega, "it happens to me every day when I talk to people, everyone associates it with northern Europe."

However, the person responsible for Quality makes a plea to the consumption of Canarian products, because although the agricultural situation in Europe has not affected them, he does recognize that the situation is "complicated, due to the increase in costs." «We must preserve the agriculture of Gran Canaria so as not to depend largely on the outside», Señala.