After being born into an agricultural family, with his father and grandfather linked to agriculture, José Manuel Mora studied Agronomic Engineering and after going through several cooperatives in the province of Valencia, today he advises and gives technical support from the Supply Cooperative Agricultural in Torrent.
He believes that the future of agriculture goes through technification and biotechnology given the current situation of reduction of phytosanitary active materials by the EU, an agriculture in which there will be no room for “the weekend farmer who does not want to spend money “. But above all, he appreciates in EDYPRO‘s biotechnological solutions the result in terms of fruit quality and the technical support of its manager and technical director, Vicente Puchol, who “makes sure that his products are adapted to your needs”.
- ¿Cómo entró a formar parte del mundo de la agricultura y cuál ha sido su formación y evolución profesional desde sus inicios?
I am an Agricultural Engineer. I did the Final Degree project at Anecoop. Through Anecoop I started working at the Real de Montroy Cooperative, and since I’m from Torrent I started working at the L´Horta Cooperative Consortium there.
Later, I joined the Coperativa de Suministros Agrícolas, which is also in Torrent, and since I appreciated the distance from home and the family aspect, since 2016 I have been working here as a technical manager. We are a cooperative that doesn’t sell fruit but only agricultural supplies and services.
In my house my father and my grandfather have been farmers and I’ve always been linked to the issue of cooperativism and agriculture.
- How long have you known EDYPRO and its products, how was this first contact?
Since when I worked in the Consortium of Cooperatives of l´Horta, there was a close relationship with the company. We were good customers, and I already handled EDYPRO products. And when I was an internship student at Citruscoop, I already knew EDYPRO solutions.
The relationship between Citruscoop and EDYPRO is easily for about 15 years, practically since the creation of EDYPRO as a company.
- What do you think biotechnology contributes to agriculture?
Today for me it is the only way to go because the issue of phytosanitary treatments and application of fertilizers is increasingly being restricted, so we have to go to more specific products in which lower doses achieve similar or better results.
- What technical aspect would you highlight of EDYPRO’s biotechnological solutions?
The products that we spend the most are mainly destined for citrus and I have to say that they work for me and respond to what I am looking for. Trees in conditions, good fruits quality for what is required today.
- At the company level, what factors determine trust in EDYPRO’s biotechnological solutions?
The technical support from Vicente Puchol is a plus. Maybe the same product without having the right people behind you, who can answer your questions, advise you which product at what time, I think it’s an important factor that other companies don’t have it. He is not a person who simply sells his products to you but is concerned that his products suit your needs.
- What are the EDYPRO solutions that you use the most and would you recommend for standing out from other biotech companies?
We mainly spend ORGANOVITAL PLUS, at the root level for tree stimulation and for foliar treatments. ENDOFOSFITO is a product that works very well for me to preserve my skin and ZIMA L MAX, a corrector for Zinc and Manganese deficiencies. COUPÉ REGENERATION PLUS we have also been spending it for a few years. The fact that it is certified for organic production also helps to close the crop cycle.
- What aspects would you highlight in the crops after handling EDYPRO biotechnological solutions?
Above all and in general, the quality of the fruit; size and consistency. Because in the end what you are looking for is a good quality of fruit but also you need a good shape tree to continue producing the followings years and that we are achieving.
- How do you imagine agriculture in about ten years?
Complicated, but increasingly specialized and professionalized. Small farmers will disappear and that gap in theory will be filled by service companies that group big areas, but the path is not yet profitable, so resources must be optimized.
There has been a purge for 5 or 7 years. The weekend farmer who does not want to spend money, who does not want to make a varietal change is already sentenced. It is difficult for citrus cultivation to be maintained in this way, in my case it has to be people who carry more volume and more specialized.
- Do you think the future of agriculture is biotechnology?
In recent years, agriculture has taken a major turn in this regard. There are already many platforms that speak of Zero Waste and that want most of the production with Zero Waste. And that inevitably happens through biotechnology, and at the phytosanitary level, we have fewer and fewer products. They remove two and only one new one appears. So, the trend is clear, it has to be an increasingly technical agriculture, with biotechnological products and less resort to massive phytosanitary treatments.