Rafael Fernández: "The farmer of Huelva is used to living in crisis"

Rafael Fernandez Luengo is an agronomist who since 2003 has been in charge of Luyra Family Investments, a company that is dedicated to technical advice and comprehensive management of citrus and red fruit farms of the province of Huelva. In statements made to agrodiariohuelva.es, analyzes the current situation of Huelva agriculture and more specifically in the area where he develops his professional work, which ranges from Cartaya to Ayamonte.

Rafael Fernández Luengo, in a citrus plot in Lepe who advises on an agricultural and economic management level.

First of all, what would be the first piece of advice you would give to a young farmer who wants to start from scratch?

  • To plant a fruit that can escape a bit of overproduction. That it does not enter the market when everyone is producing. If you want to bet on citrus fruits, you have to go to a variety either very early or very late, and if you have economic possibilities you would have to decide on those with rollalties; those that have added value.

Can you specify in the citrus plot?

  • In citrus, I would advise you to go for the best possible varieties of early clementines if you cannot afford a royalty. If you can do that, then you would have to choose from exclusive varieties, protected brands like Tango, Orri, Nadorcott and Leandri, for example. At present there are interesting proposals that are working very well because both the productions and the cultivated areas are controlled. It is the only way to guarantee a final price.

And with regard to red fruits ...

  • Here, in this area, the first thing that was cultivated on a large scale was the strawberry and its plantations still continue to proliferate in the area; then came the blueberry boom, which has become a lot. However, now you have to be very fine with the variety of blueberry that you put, there are already some varieties that may be touching the threshold of profitability. What was profitable before on its own, is no longer so. Now you have to look for blueberries with more calibers and you have to try to overtake it a little more when there is little. It is not so easy anymore. If before you made money easily with blueberries, now you have to be very professional to get a high quality product. Before it was worth everything and now the smaller ones no longer work.

But the strawberry still has an outlet ...

  • I am not very into the strawberry sector. I have farmers who grow it but it is very rare to hear people speak well of it. In the end, the feeling that you have left of the strawberry tree is that it allocates the money it earns to other alternative products, that it does not reinvest it in expanding the strawberry hectares, and that it uses the strawberry plantations to support the personnel it needs for other crops that provide it. more benefits. So what they convey to me is that the bur can be like a hitch to keep the crews for longer.

It is also the most sacrificed crop for a farmer ...

  • It is a very laborious crop, because every year you have to remove and put the plantations. You dedicate many hours to it and in the end the prices are not quite right. When there are good prices there are always few fruits and when there is a lot of fruit there are low prices. This season, after the stoppage caused by the weeks of cold and rain that we have had, when the sun has warmed up again, now in April, a lot of fruit has begun to be harvested, and then prices between 60 and 80 cents have begun to register kilo, and the bills no longer start to come out. As of April, the strawberry tree has little profit to make.

Some try to praise the campaign until June and July ...

  • In those months it is difficult to have prices. The strawberry tree is always scraping there. It is true that they will not stop planting strawberries in this area of ​​the province, but it is no longer going crazy. What is tried is to maintain the small plots that you have in order to defend the wages that this crop gives you.

To what extent is it convenient to diversify productions?

  • Diversification always brings greater peace of mind if you are right with the area where you are going to put these new plantations and with the varieties you use. Avocado, for example, is interesting. Many hectares are being placed, but the world consumer demand is brutal. The avocado is associated with health. Before you could not see an avocado in a fruit bowl and now it is rare not to see it.

How do you see agriculture in Huelva, General?

  • The Huelva farmer is healthy. He is used to living in crisis. Agriculture is a sector that withstands crises very well because it has been immersed in it for many years. So you have a greater ability to cushion those difficult moments and overcome them. From my point of view, if we continue to use the best possible varieties in the plantations, the normal thing is that agriculture will continue to be the main economic engine of the province of Huelva, since we have very good lands, with an exceptional climate, with excellent water and with professional and qualified farmers.

We have the handicap that there is a lack of manpower in the fields ...

  • Yes, labor is essential for crops as demanding as strawberries or blueberries. Many strawberry and blueberry trees want to diversify and put citrus fruits because they do not need as many workers. In addition, it must be taken into account that the seasonal worker already feels like a fundamental part of agriculture. A farmer from Lepe told me that they have already asked him, on occasion, if the strawberry is on high or low loins, and they ask it with all the intention because if they are on low loins they go to the neighbor who has them height. Now they can choose and feel key pieces.

To what extent is it positive to be associated within the agricultural sector?

  • Anything that is partnering for an improvement is important. This way you can defend more decent prices and you can go to certain subsidies from European funds. It is not a bad thing to associate, but there are still farmers who want to continue to have their independence. However, in the end they eat you because every day there are more demands and quality certificates that they ask for in order to market the fruit. A well-managed cooperative or SAT are very viable solutions. If you stay alone you are a bit forgotten, it depends on getting an extra quality every year. What is clear is that if the farmer achieves quality fruit, he will always have it sold. If you get a mediocre one, it will depend on the demand and if you get a bad one, you will be left behind in the queue. In the latter case, if fruit is needed in the market they will come to look for it but if it does not come nobody will have to eliminate it anyway.

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