In just a decade, has grown by 3,000% and has generated more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs throughout Spain. We are talking about pistachio: the ‘green gold’ that, despite initial skepticism, has radically changed hectares and hectares of the heart of the country.
But we have known all this for years.
What we did not know is that this agricultural boom was going to lead to an entire agrotechnological revolution.
The epicenter of “pistachotech”. With 80% of the Spanish pistachio, Castilla-La Mancha has taken a step further to become the European epicenter of this “pistachio technological wave”: from “laboratory” rootstocks and new less common varieties to drones, precision irrigation and sterile insect programs.
However, that is not the most interesting thing. As the Nobel Prize winners recently reminded us, what is interesting about this technological boom is the cultural change towards an innovative agricultural environment. But let’s go in parts.
What is really happening in Castilla La Mancha? As explained in Enclave ODSAccording to Ángel Minaya (director of Agróptimum), the ultimate idea is to “control the entire process from the origin: the seed, the tree, the management and, subsequently, the industry.” This has led a group of researchers, businessmen and producers to start – often separately – an authentic revolution that goes from genetics to industrial organization.
Let’s talk about the seed… This has been one of the first battles, for years California has led the creation of varieties with vigor and high tolerance to pests, salinities and low temperatures. And places like Cuenca have been key in its widespread adoption.
They are true all-rounders that also reduce harvesting (alternation of crops) and improve harvesting performance than traditional varieties. They produce more, in a more stable way and are collected with fewer resources.
…but it’s not just a seed thing. The truth is that, even having the best seed in the world, the genetic approach is not enough. And it is even less so in areas like Spain where water tensions and the pressure of desertification processes are the order of the day.
Therefore, beyond grafts and varieties, precision irrigation and nutrition, computerized phenology, drones and their new remote sensing systems and the mechanization of harvesting have a central role in pushing the countryside towards a techno-digital era that has not quite come to fruition.
Until now. And the best example of this is the speed with which the Spanish countryside is considering putting into practice sterile insect techniques that, although they are not yet fully necessary due to the youth of the plantations, are the gold standard of pest management.
Good news. After all, the pistachio depends to open and close the harvest window properly and, above all, to process the harvest quickly. Without an extensive technical and industrial infrastructure, it is an almost impossible mission.
An ecosystem in full growth. In a context in which agriculture needs massive amounts of genetic engineering, automation and data in real time, the configuration of a high-tech hub in the heart of Castilla La Mancha is excellent news.
It not only seems an excellent tool to establish population and develop Empty Spain, but it is beginning to be configured as the great opportunity for the Spanish agricultural industry to reinvent yourself.
Image | Christopher Burns | Christopher Balz
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings