Agraz has recently grabbed media attention especially from nordic correspondents who have taken an interest on the company, its production model and ability to adapt to sustainable standards of production.
As the company is pushing both towards expanding its production capacity in china, it is at the same time getting its farmers to radically change their agricultural methods and to comply by adapting to more sustainable production processes.
In article magazine Bedre Gardsdrift has given much space to Agraz production methods. It focused mainly on the mechanisation of its production process, and made some analogy to a similar crop processing systems – potatoes, pointing out how the production system and the mechanization did not interfere with the quality of the processed product.
In another article the same magazine focused on new irrigation systems adopted by farmers working for Agraz. As Grupo empresarial Agraz is experimenting with these agricultural techniques we learn how it is gradually taking responsibility towards environment and in this particular case with water waste; by working closely with contract farmers to comply to a standardised and transparent supply chain and production regulation set out by Unilever; from crop rotation to fertilization usage.
Another Finnish newspaper Kauppalehti also has given some attention to Agraz and its sustainable production commitment. Pesticides used are only those approved by World Health Organization which includes also non-toxic traps. Contract farmer commitment to investing in water management and soil analysis. Farmers are becoming more efficient and more productive.
Javier Gomedio general manager of Agraz in Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia remarked its commitment towards achieving 100% sustainability by 2014 . This will be achieved by reducing to a minimum the usage of chemical products, crop rotation to avoid nutrient loss, and choosing seeds that are not genetically modified. Water consumption must be kept to a minimum “when taking care of these aspects the soil will have a better life and the tomato will have better qualities”.
when buying or choosing tomatoes it is important to choose tomatoes that are not of the same size as this is an indication that it comes from greenhouses or that they were probably collected when they were not ripe and were left to mature in a fridge, check also the color of the tomato when its cut open, green parts are and indication that the fruit did not mature correctly and its taste won’t be as good.
Aside from the prices, consumers today are more aware of the quality of the product and always more concerned with production practices and environmental issues.
These developments can be seen as a double whammy therefore for both consumer and producer, where we can only see benefits from both sides in both in price and quality of the products.
Sustainability in agricultural is a silent revolution, Agraz is planting seeds for green revolution that will soon show its effects.