FOOD, AGRICULTURE & WATER
VITACRESS CLOSE TO THE SOIL
LUÍS MESQUITA DIAS CEO, Vitacress
Vitacress Portugal is a vertically integrated agri-food business which was first established in 1982 and today employees some 280 people. The core business is the growing, processing and marketing of baby leaf salads, watercress, herbs and other specialty vegetables, serving both the national and European markets. Operations are located near Odemira, Portugal in an area which not only claims to be the single largest territorial municipality in Europe at some 1720 km2, but also has one of the of the lowest residential population densities in Portugal with just 27,000 people. The local economic activity is heavily dependent on a mix of agriculture and rural tourism, the latter of which draws in several thousand tourists specifically looking to experience this remote, but ecologically rich area of Portugal. Our nominated“ Quinta do Azenha” located on the South-West Atlantic coastline of Portugal has applied to a specific accreditation of a particularly demanding international chain of restaurants and has received it in view of the extremely high quality of our operations.
Azenha do Mar currently farms some 130 ha of light sandy soils and includes 1km stretch of this pristine coastline between the land marks of Praia D’ Amalia and the village of Azenha do Mar. We grow up 19 types of leaf which collectively give rise to some 3500 tons of produce per annum, with the big five being red lettuce, green lettuce, spinach, wild rocket and coriander. Our case study proposed to the referred chain is partly shared here to illustrate our ways of working. We believe our shared values of Ethical, Environmental & Economic, should not come with a price tag for the end user, but instead, be built on one of trust, stewardship and responsible farming. We recognize that“ sustainability” will cost business more but to produce sustainably in the long term, there must
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