Good Practice - Project
AGROBERRY - Original from Zamora
A young female farmer introduced a blackberry plantation into a wheat and barley production area and created added value by developing a new range of products. This was the winning initiative of the 2019 Rural Inspiration Awards in the 'Improving competitiveness' category.
General information
RDP Priority
- P6. Social inclusion and local development
RDP Focus Area
- 6B: Local development
RDP Measure
- M19: LEADER/CLLD
Summary
A young farmer who returned to the countryside decided to innovate by introducing a new irrigated crop in a dry area. As a result, she created added value by developing a whole new range of products.
Support from the Rural Development Programme of Castile and León helped the young farmer to establish an organic blackberries plantation. The plantation is drip irrigated from a well that was drilled for this purpose and a workshop was set up to process the fruit and create a wide range of products. The creation of a store in the young farmer’s village is also envisaged, in order to boost sales. The project promoter is AGROBERRY, an SME from Zamora (Spain) lead by Nuria Alvarez, a young famer.
Results
Created one full-time job and five temporary jobs.
Sales increased more than 15% in 2018.
The farm is becoming an attraction for agritourism. More than 30 people visited the farm in 2018.
Cultivation is free from both pesticides and herbicides and only organic fertiliser is used.
Water resources are protected, as each plant receives only about two litters in the three months of each harvest circle.
The young farmer has received five awards at national and regional level.
Promoter
AGROBERRY Original from Zamora
Funding
Total budget 55 985 (EUR)
EAFRD 13 436 (EUR)
National/Regional 3 359 (EUR)
Private 39 190 (EUR)
Resources
Documents
winner-ic_es_ic-02_agroberry_20190326.pdf
(PDF – 380.14 KB)
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