Automatic translation via Google Translator©The conference “Prepared for Extreme Agriculture: Science and Solutions in the Face of Climate Change,” held at the Eurostars Acteón in Valencia and sponsored by Nutritec, successfully brought together more than 50 researchers, advisors, and producers from different countries on November 27th. The event provided a forum for discussion and knowledge sharing regarding one of the greatest challenges for the agricultural sector: adapting crops to increasingly extreme climatic conditions.
Climate change is accelerating the emergence of crop scenarios marked by water and heat stress, degraded soils, new pest pressures, and, ultimately, complex situations that demand new management approaches. In this context, the conference offered an updated analysis of the state of science and agricultural practices that are already helping crops withstand extreme conditions.
A Morning of Applied Science, International Experiences, and Technical Debate
The session was led by Alejandro de Vega, editorial coordinator of the magazine Tierras Agricultura, who introduced a program designed to bridge scientific knowledge and agricultural practice.
The morning began with a presentation by Raúl Montoro, Business Manager for Europe at Nutritec, the event’s sponsor. During his talk, Montoro shared a global perspective on the company’s experience in some of the world’s most demanding climates and conditions, highlighting a decade of work alongside technicians and farmers to bring valuable solutions to Spanish agriculture.
Next, Dr. Sara Izquierdo Zandalinas (Universitat Jaume I) presented the latest advances in research on multifactorial stress in plants, explaining how the combination of adverse factors affects plant development and what strategies can improve crop management in complex climatic scenarios.
After a coffee break, Dr. Riadh Ghorbel Rebai, international crop consultant and R&D collaborator at Nutritec, delved into the theoretical foundations of abiotic stress and its practical application, with a special focus on citrus crop management, one of the most sensitive to changing climatic conditions.
International Roundtable: Real-World Experiences from Morocco, Egypt, and Spain
One of the highlights of the day was the international roundtable, also sponsored by Nutritec, which brought together:
- Dr. Sara Izquierdo Zandalinas, Universitat Jaume I
- Dr. Riadh Ghorbel Rebai, Nutritec
- Abdelfattah Baala, CEO of WAZO (Morocco)
- Ahmed Mohsen Mohamed, CEO of AMZA / EGO (Egypt)
The speakers shared real-world cultivation experiences from regions already working in extreme conditions:
- From Marrakech and Agadir, Abdelfattah Baala presented his work managing over 300 hectares of citrus, 30 hectares of berries, and 20 hectares of tomatoes in a semi-arid region with long periods of drought.
- From Egypt, Ahmed Mohsen Mohamed shared his perspective as a producer and consultant managing over 500 hectares of table grapes, citrus fruits, and mangoes, cultivated in both completely desert areas and the Nile Delta, one of the regions with the greatest climatic and soil stress in North Africa.
Both speakers offered firsthand accounts of how innovation, applied research, and technical support make it possible to sustain production in climatically challenging environments.
The day concluded with a networking cocktail reception, a space where attendees and speakers could exchange experiences, forge new connections, and share concerns and opportunities for improvement in the face of the common challenge of climate change.