The La Mancha Saffron Protected Designation of Origin will hold a panel of specialists next February to address the causes that have led to the decline in the harvest in the last campaign, which has gone from 600 kilos in a normal harvest to 350 kilos in the last one, and that when the hectares have increased in recent years. The first inquiries point to "high temperatures" as the cause of this decline in flowering.
This was announced by the president of this DO, Carlos Fernández, after the meeting he had with the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development, Francisco Martínez Arroyo, and in which the integration of this Denomination into the brand of regional quality 'Field and Soul'.
According to Fernández, this table of specialists will be made up of the Provincial Technical Agronomic Institute of Albacete (ITAP), the Polytechnic University of Valencia, a recognized meteorologist, producers in the sector and the counselor has also been invited. The objective is "to study the data we have from records and the specialists will help us to interpret the data on temperature, rainfall and other agronomic data in order to understand what has been the reason for the drop in flowering that has been going on for two years in a row".
However, the president of the DO points out that the consultations that have already been made seem to indicate that "the high temperatures at the time of floral differentiation" are the cause of this decline and now they are studying "possible solutions that may be shading techniques or any other that the specialists tell us”.
This decrease in production has occurred despite the fact that in recent years the hectares devoted to cultivation and the number of producers have gradually increased. According to the data that have been offered, in 2007 there were 80 hectares registered in the DO, in 2014 they already reached 102 hectares and this year there are 134 hectares of saffron cultivation. In addition, it integrates 252 producers and 16 packaging companies.
'Field and Soul'
Likewise, the counselor has highlighted the importance of the DO being incorporated into the new quality mark of Castilla-La Mancha, Campo y Alma, "excellent news for us" because the Regulatory Council is also going to incorporate this regional quality mark in the 50 promotional activities that it has planned for this 2022, in addition to the inclusion of the logo on the Azafrán de la Mancha packaging.
In the meeting between the Ministry and the DO, two lines of interesting aid for producers of this spice have also been discussed. The line of Short Marketing Channels that will publish a third call in the first half of this year and that will involve an investment of 100.000 euros to take the product from the field to the table with a single intermediary, at most.
Thus, the president of the DO has pointed out that this is a line "is perfect for the structure of saffron producers, who work in many cases from the producer directly to restaurants and small gourmet shops."
Also, the counselor has committed other aid, the line dedicated to Producer Associations "with the objective of increasing the bargaining power of said industry in the food chain, for this it is important to form large groups that defend the product well ”.
This call will also be published over the next few months, it will provide 400.000 euros for the companies that are part of this group, and requires the joint marketing of production for 5 years.
Fernández has stated that this aid for the sector is also important because "the cultivation of saffron is organized with smallholdings, which is why the grouping is key to continue producing."
