Interview with Alejandro Castilla Bonete, IFAPA’s Technical Specialist, and Rafaela Ordoñez, IFAPA’s main researcher for the project.
What does your organisation do?
The Andalusian Institute for Research and Training in Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Organic Production (IFAPA) was created to respond to the demands of the Andalusian agricultural, fisheries, aquaculture and food sectors.
The IFAPA aims to be an agile and efficient instrument in its operation, realistic and pragmatic in its action programmes, and focused on promoting research, technological innovation and training in the agricultural, fishing and food industries.
What is your role in the Life Innocereal project? What is your role?
Under the agro-climatic conditions of Andalusia, the extensive area of arable crops in our region acquires an important weight in terms of its contribution to environmental sustainability and the conservation of natural resources, as well as fauna and flora, apart from its capacity to generate wealth and traditional employment as a producer of foodstuffs.
The evolution of EU agricultural policy and of the rules governing the production and use of inputs, as well as the progressive effects of climate change on the agri-food system, will require major changes and adaptations in production systems that will need the experimental, training and transfer support of IFAPA for their rapid implementation. Hence the importance and necessity of IFAPA’s participation in a European-wide project, which aims to respond to the environmental and economic sustainability of cereal production through the adoption of innovations in soil management systems and agricultural inputs and new technologies and ICTs. On the other hand, the creation of technological companies and the inclusion of increasingly mechanised and automated agricultural systems mean that the gender perspective is included in these environments.
As a partner, what are your objectives within the project?
Improve knowledge about the interaction of different varieties according to different cultivation methods. Conventional agriculture, as opposed to conservation agriculture, not only influences the soil and its development, but we believe that it also has a direct interaction with the plant material, of which we know very little.
What methods/tools will you make available to Life Innocereal?
IFAPA will provide the project with its own experimental plots, such as those at the Rancho de la Merced and Alameda del Obispo centres, to validate measurement methodologies and field data collection equipment. In addition, it will also carry out studies in collaborating farms of private farmers, with whom it has a good relationship due to previous collaboration in other projects.
IFAPA also has laboratories at its Alameda del Obispo centre for preparing soil and plant samples, as well as physical and chemical analysis laboratories with scientific infrastructures. This ensures the validity and quality of the results obtained for the different parameters to be controlled in the tests.
To this must be added the contribution of IFAPA’s human resources, both field and laboratory staff, as well as other means, such as agricultural machinery and vehicles for transport.
Finally, why did you decide to join Life Innocereal?
The evaluation of varieties and their subsequent recommendation is based on their adaptation to the climate of the area and the different types of soil. However, we do not know the influence on crop management. Advancing in this knowledge is our motivation, as we are taking another step forward in the knowledge of the productive and quality potential of the different varieties. This means, therefore, an improvement in sustainable agriculture, minimising environmental impact and maximising profitability.