A Profitable Alternative for the Spanish Southeast: The Case of Production of Figs in Greenhouses

Abstract

Spain is one of the main fruit and vegetable export centers, as it allocates more than 80% of its total production to foreign trade. In recent years, the stable demand for fruit and vegetables has been affected by the incorporation of third countries outside the European Union, which compete by marketing the same portfolio of products. This situation causes farmers to have to look for other crops to expand the current supply. However, the introduction of alternative crops leaves aside the environmental importance in order to choose a profitable and sustainable alternative for farmers from the economic, logistical and social point of view. The key strategy must be to increase the range of products with new crops that are both profitable and sustainable, especially given the difficulties encountered in agricultural practices, such as pollution from chemical products, water scarcity, and waste generation. In this context, the need arises to propose national crops that can complement the necessary supply and avoid negative externalities. For this reason, the objective of this study is to demonstrate the profitability of the sustainable production of figs inside greenhouses so that the agricultural sector may invest in this alternative crop to complement the supply of intensive horticulture in southeastern Spain. Therefore, this analysis seeks to answer the initial question, Can fig cultivation be a profitable alternative to the current model of agriculture in the Almeria region? The field test consisted of cultivating 11 national varieties of biferous fig trees under greenhouse conditions. The chosen location was the Spanish southeast, specifically an experimental farm in the province of Almeria, and the selected dates were the years 2018–2020. The results indicate that the intensive cultivation of early figs and figs is a good alternative since it both allows the recovery of the investment from the fourth year, depending on the selected variety, and contributes favorably to sustainable agricultural production.