Over three days, the company brought together growers, technicians, marketing companies and researchers in Pozo Aledo (Murcia) to present its main varietal innovations and to address, from a comprehensive perspective, the major challenges facing the brassica value chain.
This third edition was structured around three differentiated days, focusing specifically on agronomic aspects, the commercial and market context, and finally on science and biotechnology applied to crop productivity and competitiveness.
Agronomy and field challenges at the core of the first day
On Tuesday, 20 January, the event focused on the current agronomic challenges facing brassicas. The technical programme opened with a presentation by Dr Antonio Alcázar, Technical Director at Agrotécnica Goeloza, who analysed the main challenges these crops face in the field. He was followed by Alfonso Cano, Head of Strategic Business Development for the south-east at FMC, who addressed various agro-innovative solutions to improve brassica management and profitability.
The morning concluded with a round table entitled “How to address new agronomic challenges in brassicas”, featuring Alfonso Cano, Antonio Alcázar and Paco Martínez, Agricultural Technical Engineer at Alimer. The debate was moderated by Antonio Ibarra, Brassicas Product Manager EMEA at Sakata, and enabled the exchange of practical experiences and strategies to respond to an increasingly demanding production and regulatory environment.
Market, consumption and added value take centre stage on day two
On Wednesday, 21 January, the focus shifted to the commercial and market dimension. In this context, Fernando Gómez, Managing Director of Proexport, highlighted that just five countries absorb 85% of the broccoli produced in the Region of Murcia, Europe’s main production area. The United Kingdom remains the leading destination for Murcian supply, with per capita consumption higher than in any other country, at 5.8 kg. Gómez called for expanding consumption beyond these five main buyers and also noted that North Macedonia and Albania are gaining ground as producers.
He also underlined the evolution of consumption in the domestic market, which has increased from 200 grams per capita per year a decade ago to almost 2 kg in 2024. This growth is linked to promotional campaigns driven by the +Brócoli Association, which this year, for the first time, has EU funds allocated to markets including Germany.
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The day continued with a presentation by Miguel Otero, Principal Researcher at the Elcano Royal Institute and Professor at IE University, who analysed the European context from a geopolitical and geoeconomic perspective, addressing risks, responses and possible scenarios.
This session concluded with a round table on “How to add value to brassicas to increase sales”, with the participation of Fernando Gómez, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, CEO of JimboFresh International, and Alfonso Doménech, Commercial Director at Agromark. The discussion was moderated by Amparo Pellicer, Food Chain Promoter at Sakata Seed Ibérica, and highlighted the importance of differentiation, innovation and communication in further boosting consumption.
Science and biotechnology to drive competitiveness
On Thursday, 22 January, the Winter Days moved into the field of science and biotechnology. The day opened with the presentation “Brassicas 2030: science to feed a changing world” by José Miguel Mulet, Professor of Biotechnology at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and Director of the Sakata UPV Chair of Biotechnology in Agriculture and Food.
This was followed by a round table on “Biotechnological advances to boost brassica productivity and competitiveness”, featuring José Miguel Mulet; Micaela Carvajal, Research Professor at CEBAS-CSIC and member of the Scientific Committee of +Brócoli; and Juan Martínez, Professor of Plant Production and Microbiology and Director of the Higher Polytechnic School of Orihuela. The session was moderated by Aurelio Estopiñán, Head of Open-Field Crop Development at Sakata Seed Ibérica.
With this third edition of the Brassicas Winter Days, Sakata Seed Ibérica reinforces its commitment to knowledge transfer, experience sharing and innovation as key levers to address the agronomic, commercial and scientific challenges of one of the most dynamic segments of European horticulture.
