The Valencian Community is famous for its traditional citrus crops, favored by the terrain and climate. The oranges, lemons and tangerines of the region have the recognition of protected geographical indication, granted by the European Union, which guarantees both origin and quality and way of producing. New techniques and technologies are now added to this seal that embrace environmental and sustainability criteria.
The La Reva estate is a point of reference in this regard. Its managers set out to reduce the use of fertilizers in its approximately 620 hectares, while making more efficient use of irrigation water. Javier Pastor He belongs to the Technical Department of the farm company, Revacitrus, and explains that one of the first measures adopted was to change the dripper lines. “With the old system, the flow that was used varied a lot, depending on the pressure. Thanks to the new drippers, which incorporate anti-drain and self-compensating technology, you get more efficient watering and many liters of water are lost with each irrigation, but they also serve to preserve the liquid that remains in the pipes when they are not working ”, he explains. This water that remains in the hose can be used in the next irrigation because not a drop is lost.
“Thanks to the new drippers, with anti-drainage and self-compensating technology, many liters of water are lost”
Another of the initiatives adopted is the installation of humidity sensors, to measure the depth at which each plant demands water. The sensors alert if the soil is drying out or if the crop has not yet consumed all the available water and, therefore, regulate the irrigation according to the needs. Pastor emphasizes that, in the case of citrus trees, “it only needs to reach 40 or 50 centimeters underground.” “At a greater depth it is lost, since the vegetable does not take advantage of it”.
Regarding the use of fertilizers, Javier Pastor points out that, in La Reva, “its use is closely linked, again, to the use of water”, because “it is paid every time it is watered”. This means that, “if you win in efficiency when watering, you will also save on fertilizers”. In the same way, “if the water does not descend to the depth that the tree really needs, the compost will not do it either, saving and avoiding pollute soil and aquifers”. And the balance of these practices has been very positive. They divided the farm into two areas: in one, the usual routine; in the other, sustainable practices. And they have managed to produce the same with significant savings in water, reduced environmental impact, costs and increased competitiveness.
676 million liters of water
La Reva is one of the 37 farms that have joined the ‘Fanta Guide of good sustainable practices in citrus cultivation’ and the project Sustainable Citrusby Coca-Cola. With the collaboration of the Jaume I University of Castellón, in addition to the strategic eco-innovation study Inèdit and the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) of the Generalitat of Catalonia, the aim is for Spanish citrus producers to implement sustainable irrigation and fertilization practices. A good part of what the La Reva farm is developing has come out of this guide to good practices.
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And the results speak for themselves: between 2018 and 2019, the measures implemented allowed savings 676 million liters of water in 750 hectares attached to the project. To achieve this, the main efforts focused on installing more than 1,300 kilometers of humidity sensors, as well as the aforementioned irrigation systems with non-draining and self-compensating drippers.
The program also seeks to reduce the use of fertilizers, since on many occasions some farmers “pay too much and at the wrong time”, according to the Inèdit Project Director, Carles M. Gasol. “In these cases, we find soils with a high content of potassium and phosphorus, while there are nutrient deficiencies in the leaves of the plant, where they should be. In this situation, what we do is recalculate the fertilizer doses after analyzing the soil and instruct the producer to apply them depending on the stage of plant development”, He points out.
For her part, Ana Gascón, Director of Corporate Responsibility at Coca-Cola Iberia, adds that the initiative “allows reduce CO₂ emissions by using less fertilizers and increasing the value of citrus fruits by being classified as sustainable, which opens new markets to farmers. “At the same time,” it contributes to improving the competitiveness of the final product and we help preserve rural jobs“For this, more than 4,100 hours of advice have been given to horticulturists.
A debt to nature
In addition to placing its focus on citrus groves, Coca-Cola also works to protect water resources in other areas and environments, livestock and agriculture, in the rest of the country. Everything, to fulfill its purpose of returning to nature the equivalent of 100% of the water contained in your drinks. And it seems that, so far, not only does it succeed, but the balance is more than positive: in 2019, it managed to replace 3.782 million liters, thanks to all the measures put in place. In other words, the company restored the 129% of the water resource content in the beverages sold throughout Spain.
One of the most outstanding programs in terms of the preservation of aquatic habitats is the one developed in the estuary of the Guadalquivir River. Here, the company, in collaboration with the environmental entity WWF Spain, has launched the project ‘Mission possible: Guadalquivir challenge’, whose objective is improve the quantity and quality of the water at the river mouth through two major interventions. On the one hand, it seeks to recover a marsh in Trebujena, in Cádiz, while, on the other hand, it is working to make a more efficient use in 15 farms in the province of Seville.
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Similarly, Coca-Cola is promoting an innovative way of managing land in the Teruel area in parallel, with the purpose of protecting rivers and aquifers through the ‘Planting water’ initiative. This measure managed by Ecoedes – and which has the scientific advice of the University of Zaragoza, the participation of the Government of Aragon, the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and the University of Barcelona – takes into account that vegetation influences the availability of liquid, but not necessarily with an indiscriminate repopulation. To do this, controlled reforestation in an affected area a decade ago by a serious fire. The aim is to ensure the supply of ‘blue water’ —that is, that from rivers and aquifers—, at the same time that livestock is encouraged to clean the forest.
These are two more examples of how innovation and efficiency can go hand in hand to promote sustainability in the management of such a fundamental resource, especially when 90% of the product marketed by the company is water. Proof of this commitment and its evolution is that, just a decade ago, Coca-Cola used 2.17 liters of water for every liter of soft drink manufactured; Two years ago, this number had dropped to 1.83. The current objective of the company is improve the efficiency of use by 20% with respect to that data.
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