If we were to lift the roofs off all the greenhouses in Almeria, we would discover a true forest hidden under the protective plastics that protect the plants, absorb sunlight, and accumulate warmth, allowing them to be highly productive. Indeed, a total of 48,280 hectares were cultivated last season (taking all crop cycles into account), which produced 3.3 million tons of fruits and vegetables.
In the 1970s, agricultural producers like Francisco Rodríguez played a key role in the construction of this undeniably essential sector for Almeria, and his daughter Victoria has continued the project that Francisco started, alongside his wife Claudia, proving that strawberries also have a place in the province's soil.
"My husband, Kees Jansen, who had been devoted to tomato production in the Netherlands, came up with the idea, and we decided to plant the strawberries in my father's first greenhouse here in Roquetas de Mar, in which he started working in 1977 when I was one year old," says Victoria Rodríguez.
"It was a great challenge at the start for various reasons, one being that marketing and logistics are much more oriented towards vegetables; there was nothing for strawberries, and we had to start from scratch. However, despite a difficult start, we managed to get the project going, and in September, Indalfresh will celebrate 10 years as a specialist in strawberry cultivation."
"The temperatures in Almería, which are very mild in winter, and the fact that cultivation is carried out within a closed greenhouse allow us to produce strawberries from October to June/July, with some ups and downs in the winter, as there is less light. Moreover, although water is still needed, the lack of rainfall and low humidity mean that we do not have major problems with Botrytis," she says. "To ensure a more efficient use of water, at Indalfresh, we reuse irrigation water in the most efficient way possible."
"Our customers, who are Indalfresh's best asset, are quite loyal and choose our strawberries because it is a local product and, above all, for their flavor. Our strawberries are harvested every morning and packed in the field so they are as fresh as possible when they reach our customers. In fact, both in the domestic market and in the destinations where we export them more sporadically, namely Paris and the Netherlands, customers have told us that there's a noticeable difference with other strawberries in terms of flavor and that, if they can choose, they prefer those from Almeria."
Victoria and Kees cultivate several strawberry varieties, from the classic red strawberry of a variety not traditionally grown in Spain "with a very striking aroma and an intense red color" to white or woodland strawberries. "Almeria's strawberry is a gourmet product in every sense, not only for the consumer but also for me, as a producer. The production costs are not the same as those of vegetables, and while peppers can be left on the plant if it is not interesting to harvest them that day, strawberries cannot wait. Nevertheless, Indalfresh has found a market niche that has allowed us to stay afloat all these years. Most importantly, we have achieved that while doing a job we like and, in a way, following my father's footsteps."
For more information:
Indalfresh
Carril de Congo
04740 Roquetas de Mar, Almeria, Spain
Tel.: +34 610 56 13 98
[email protected]
https://indalfresh.es