Grupo Agroponiente working at full capacity with Frutilados to convert products unsuitable for marketing into livestock feed

Grupo Agroponiente remains firmly committed to its sustainability and circular economy policies, and is currently collaborating on the Frutilados del Poniente project. Frutilados del Poniente is a public-private collaboration project developed in El Ejido and embodied in a company dedicated to the management of agricultural surpluses, which are destined for the manufacture of animal feed, after a transformation process culminating in the production of silage.

Agroponiente is thus collaborating with Frutilados in its processes and routines, sending surplus production determined unsuitable for marketing to its plant on a daily basis. Batches of product that cannot be marketed, as they do not reach the minimum quality required, are sent to the Frutilados plant and end up forming part of the silage production process, for consumption by livestock.

It is a process that is increasingly in demand and that is experiencing a moment of growing demand, achieving a quality that has been described as very positive for animal feed.

At Agroponiente, priority has been given to collaboration with Fruitlados, as part of its commitment to sustainability and the circular economy, since such production surpluses, instead of being a burden for the company, have become an exceptional and necessary raw material for animal feed, thus covering a basic need in the chain.

For Pepi Madrid, director of Quality at Agroponiente, “It is a project that is part of the broad philosophy of the company: all our operations must be carried out within the prism of sustainability, protection for the environment and circular economy. Companies like ours cannot become waste producers that later cause problems in our environment; quite the opposite: they must turn that risk into a great opportunity to improve the environment, as we are doing with this collaboration with Frutilados.”

The company’s Director of Operations, Antonio Román, said: “Fruitlados is a great public-private collaboration project, consisting of various companies working together with the City Council of El Ejido, in a cause as important as the positive use of the residues of our field. For us, it is not only a project with a certain economic benefit, but also a great opportunity to once again show that our fruit and vegetable production model, what we call the ‘Almería Model’ , is a source of benefits for our surroundings and our environment.”