Having seen first-hand how the primary sector has been present each and every day of a global pandemic, the importance of this sector has been reinforced. That is why investor funds are increasingly interested in buying land, to the point of paying amounts that would have been impossible to consider years ago.
In addition to the importance and necessity of food products from the agricultural sector and the consequent increase in global demand for these products, there is also the demand of farmers to achieve economic sustainability in the process. The government is trying to find a solution to this problem, so that prices in the sector remain strong, giving more strength to the leadership of the agricultural and agri-food activity.
In the olive grove sector, it is true that there is a great difference in economic sustainability between different types of crops. This difference must be equalised, perhaps through the transformation of olive groves and, above all, through innovation in terms of reducing costs, optimising machinery, increasing the yields of dryland olive groves, and improving valorisation in terms of carbon footprint, etc.
It is therefore a crucial moment for the sector; a time of growth, but also a time of adaptation to current needs.
Regarding the integration of agriculture into the agribusiness sector, for years, we have been incorporating new terms into our vocabulary, such as value chain, traceability, and sustainability. These terms have become increasingly important in recent years in our sector and, of course, in the food sector. At least from Ofade’s point of view, these are two sectors cannot be separated.