SPANYOL – The European Union applies very high standards to horticultural commodities, especially those that will be consumed directly in fresh form by its people.
Spain is the 4th largest vegetable producing country in the EU with a turnover of USD 5 billion per year, and they have also implemented a natural pest control system (biological control) so that pesticide residues are very low and the products produced are of high quality.
During his working visit to Spain, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) had the opportunity to visit one of the largest greenhouses in the world which is located in Almeira Province.
SYL expressed his admiration for the agricultural restoration carried out by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture for more than 40 years on the barren land of Almeira and transforming dry marginal land into fertile agricultural land with greenhouse (GH) technology, seawater desalination, and deep water pump wells.
“This is extraordinary. I have never seen a GH building as big and wide as this, which stretches across a barren expanse of dry land,” said SYL.
He explained that Indonesia should be able to do the same thing because dry marginal land is as widespread as in NTT.
Apart from expressing his admiration, he also saw how the GH implemented an integrated pest and disease control system with the concept of utilizing natural enemies.
“It turns out that Spain is a country that is quite advanced in its efforts to control pests and diseases based on natural enemies, so they use very minimal pesticides,” he explained.
During his working visit, SYL was accompanied by the Director General of Horticulture Prihasto Setyanto.
Prihasto said that what the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture did in Almeira should also be implemented in Indonesia.
“Many agricultural lands in Indonesia, especially for horticultural commodities, have used excessive pesticides. Apart from threatening nature conservation, pesticide residues also cause degenerative diseases,” explained Prihasto.
He also added that in the near future he will invite Indonesian farmers to study in Spain how to carry out biological control against pests and diseases of horticultural crops, so that they can guarantee the quality of the products produced.
“I really want to send Indonesian millennial farmers to study biological control in Spain. How to develop an environmentally friendly business concept so that Indonesian horticultural products can be competitive,” he concluded.
