This article is the responsibility of Compal
Supporting national fruit growing is one of the great mottos of Compal and the Academia do Centro de Frutologia Compal is one of the ways to put it into practice. Training Portuguese fruit growers helps them to develop their projects, to make them grow. The 9th edition of the Academy had José Ferrão and Liliana Henriques as fellows, who tell us a little about what it was like to participate in the Academy and what their plans are for the future.
The advantages of participating in the Compal Fruit Center Academy
The transfer of knowledge and the contacts that are built are pointed out as the main benefits of attending the Academia do Centro de Frutologia Compal. As José Ferrão says, “above all, it is made up of people (…) who are in the middle, who know how to explain some situations that can arise in the day-to-day life of each farmer. (…) Knowledge is here and available, and often of a higher quality than is sometimes found in other types of institutions. Liliana Henriques adds that the interns learn in different areas: “We learn about culture, production, therefore, about the management part, the marketing part. (…) A series of values that will be useful to us in the execution of the projects and later in their maintenance”. She also highlights the network of contacts she comes out of the Academy with, including trainees. In addition, for the blueberry producer, this edition of the Academy coincided with a stage in his life that he considers very happy: pregnancy. When asked about the possible challenges that she may have felt, Liliana’s response leaves no room for doubt: “The pregnancy did not negatively influence my participation in the Academy. I was always able to accompany the other trainees in all the activities.”
The apprentice projects
José Ferrão and Liliana Henriques competed for the Compal Fruit Center Academy with projects they were already developing: lemon and blueberry, respectively. What motivated them was the desire to want to do not only more, but also better.
“I decided to apply to the Compal Fruit Center because (…) it was the opportunity to also take advantage of a project that we had in hand and the potential that we thought it also had,” explains José Ferrão. This project you are talking about is a “four-hectare orchard of organically produced lemon trees in the Évora area.”
Liliana Henriques also tells us a little about her project: “Right now, I’m just a blueberry grower and I sell a lot of it in local stores. My strategy involves many short chains, therefore, I sell directly to the consumer”.
How will you apply for the scholarship?
The winners of the Compal Fruit Center Academy will receive a scholarship worth €20,000. José Ferrão and Liliana Henriques already have plans for this award:
– José Ferrão: “The donation money will always be for the implantation of the garden, (…) mainly for the acquisition of the plants”, he says. In addition, the plans are to try to channel the lemon, always in organic production mode, to markets where they already work.
– Liliana Henriques: “In the short term, it is about innovating a bit on my blueberry farm, which is already installed, and starting with the yellow kiwi farm,” she says, adding that “the plans for the future are to continue expanding – this it can be in the medium-long term and diversify”.
The importance of sustainability
Sustainability is an issue that is increasingly in the spotlight, which is positive and should be a concern for all of us. “We have to be more and more sustainable, we have to worry about future generations and what we are doing to the planet,” says Liliana Henriques, adding that, specifically in fruit growing, “we have to be more and more careful and treat to seek improvements and methods and techniques that respond to environmental sustainability so as not to compromise the future of future generations”. José Ferrão agrees and acknowledges that there is still much he can do in his plantation: “I thought I was already practicing sustainability in my project. With what I learned here in the different sessions, I really realized that there is still a lot to do. And there really is nothing better than being with the best to try to be the best too”.
Do you also want to be a graduate of the Compal Fruit Center?
Applications for the next edition of the Academy are now open. Sign up until July 19, 2022 and learn more about the Compal Fruit Center.
More information at compal.pt
Source: Observadora
