Dutch group learns about new trends in Almeria's horticulture

The group of 32 Dutch representatives, which included members of the Dutch Producers' Association (DPA), growers, and presidents and managers of leading horticultural companies in the country, as well as representatives of the Dutch ZON, visited the company Primaflor, in Pulpí, where they had the chance to visit the firm's most modern greenhouses, totally automated, for the production of lettuce, and the warehouse where the product is handled.

The Dutch delegation was also keen to learn about the production model of organic farming. For that reason, they visited greenhouses and the packing centre of the marketer Biosabor. Here they had a chance to verify the growing importance of this form of production and the high level of professionalization and technification of traders in the organic sector.

A visit was also paid to Almeria's ornamental plant. The Dutch entrepreneurs visited the farm, run by producer Ton Olsthoorn, where they learned how the cultivation of several species of ornamental plants is more feasible here than in the Netherlands, mainly due to the amount of sunlight that this area has during the winter. The conditions in Almeria make it possible for plants to flower much earlier in spring than in the Netherlands.

 

"The Netherlands is famous for its modern and state-of-the-art facilities, but these days they have realised that Almeria's facilities can actually match theirs in terms of quality, or so we have been told," concluded Jan van der Blom, head of the Production Techniques Department at COEXPHAL.