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Here we present a big farm, property of Vila Galé Group in Alentejo and the opinions of José Samarra, an Agricultural Engineer, in an interview conducted by Feel Magazine.
José Samarra, was personally invited by the Directors of the Vila Galé Group to be a part of the agro-livestock project in the Alentejo in 2004. Since then, there have been many new developments that he was able to develop and he handles the homestead as if it were his child.
How did this opportunity of the Vila Galé Group investing in the farming sector come up?
It was the result of a passion by the managers on the countryside. The Group’s agro-livestock activity started in 2000, even before the appearance of the hotel, and it includes a set of 4 homesteads called Figueirinha, Pied, Faleira and Vilar, covering a total area of 1620 hectares (ha). Later on, the Group started the planting of vines, which now reaches 130 ha and 150 ha of olive groves. It also began raising cattle on pasture, traditional cereal crops in the Alentejo and the planting of rocha pear.
In which areas are you developing projects and what is your role in this administration?
In addition to the projects mentioned earlier, we wish to continue to produce award-winning wines and olive oil, so we will make a new vineyard area for Premium wines. With the arrival of the Alqueva irrigation project to the homestead, we intend to convert barren areas into irrigated land for the production of new crops like vegetables, poppy, corn and rapeseed.
We want to keep the production of cattle and our stud farm and we are currently developing the creation of an educational farm and an educational plantation. In parallel, we will increase the area of the plantation with the planting of 19 ha of super-intensive olive grove.
The project with the SV Fruits continues to expand and my role managing this property is to monitor her like a child, that is, I manage carefully to make sure I identify its permanent needs.
What is the destination of the rocha pear and the cattle production?
About 95% of the production is intended to be marketed fresh, and the remainder for the processing industry. Of marketed production in fresh 80% is destined for export markets such as Ireland, Morocco, England and Brazil. In the domestic market the main customers are supermarkets Pingo Doce and Intermarché. The transportation of fruit to Ireland, England and Brazil occurs by sea in containers that have been refrigerated in Portugal, and to Morocco it takes place in refrigerated trucks.
Regarding cattle, we currently have 450 cows of limousine race intended for meat production to sell on large commercial surfaces.
Do you already have the results of the 23 fruit species experimental plantation?
The planting of the experimental plantation was conducted in March 2012 and the production obtained, in terms of representativeness, was of 5,000 ha in 2013 to 12,000 ha in 2014. The aim was to see which grape varieties best adapted to our region. We concluded that the three experimental hectares – where plum, nectarine, peach and apricot were planted – resulted later in the planting of 11 hectares of plum and 35 acres of nectarines and peaches.
Are there benefits for the remaining units of the Group for the stake that you made in this business area?
I think the added value focuses on the production of quality wines and olive oils that suit a tourist offering name is enshrined as the Vila Galé.
Can the customers who visit the hotel Vila Galé Clube de Campo participate in some of these activities?
Customers have always been encouraged by the Group to participate in various activities such as the harvest, vine pruning, olive picking, fruit picking, and now with the educational farm and plantation, they have another chance to participate in our activities along with their children.
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Credit: Feel Magazine
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