Bankia S A : , CajaGranada Fundación and Fundación Miguel García Sánchez award 10 farmers the 'First Prize for Excellence and Good Practices'

• The winners have been acknowledged at the premises of the company Eurocastell, of the La Caña Group, by representatives from the Fundación Miguel García Sánchez as organisers, Bankia and the CajaGranada Foundation as sponsors, and the companies Koppert España and BASF Vegetables Seeds as partners
• The competition rewards farmers in Granada, Málaga and Almería who grow subtropical and vegetable crops with a trip to attend international conferences in the Netherlands

The farmers awarded in this first edition were Inmaculada Victoria Rodríguez, Alicia López Rodríguez, María Domínguez Reyes, María del Carmen Villa Rodríguez, Dolores Pérez Salguero, Antonio Alarcón Larrosa, José Fernando Fernández Contreras, Antonio Márquez Castro, Carlos Mota Pavón and José Manuel Romera Castro.

The event, which took place at the premises of the Eurocastell company, of the La Caña Group, was attended by Bankia's Agri-business director in Andalusia, Gregorio Nieto; managing director of the Fundación CajaGranada, Fernando Bueno; president of the Fundación Miguel García Sánchez, Miguel García Puertas, as well as executive director, Samuel Ortega. In addition, commercial director of Koppert Spain in Almería, Juan Carlos Rodríguez, and major accounts manager of BASF Vegetables Seeds and Miguel Espinosa were present.

One of the purposes of this award is to acknowledge farmers in Granada, Málaga and Almería with subtropical and vegetable crops who, through their effort, dedication and interest to improve day by day, seek excellence, continuous improvement and the application of good practices that place them at the forefront of the industry in terms of training, compliance with quality standards, the condition of their facilities, the quality of their products, their innovation, the application of new technologies, compliance with working conditions and prevention of occupational risks, sustainable practices and care for the environment '.

'We would like to thank all the entities that have supported the project, as well as the farmers who have applied for the award,' said the executive director of the Fundación Miguel García Sánchez. 'We are already thinking about setting up a second edition next year, which is about to begin', said Miguel García Puertas.

Meanwhile, the Agri-business manager of Bankia in Andalusia has pointed out 'the importance of acknowledging, with Fundación CajaGranada, some of the best farmers in the region in such an exceptional year' and has valued that 'the sector has proven itself to be an essential service, enabling all the best products to reach every home, even in the weeks of the state of alarm declared due to the pandemic'.

Along the same lines, managing director of the Fundación CajaGranada, Fernando Bueno, highlighted 'the pride entailed with sponsoring these awards, with Bankia'. 'Of the many projects we share, supporting the agriculture of our province is especially relevant and the launch of an award to reward excellence, innovation and development in the industry is fundamental', he stated.

46 nominations submitted

The jury, consisting of Gregorio Nieto, Agri-business manager of Bankia in Andalusia; David López, national director of the food industry of the SGS certification body; Juan Reca, director of the CIAMBITAL research centre of the University of Almería; Emilio Maldonado, director of the Agriculture Department of the La Caña Group; and Samuel Ortega, executive director of the Fundación MGS, evaluated a total of 46 nominations and praised the high level of most of the candidates.

The prizes will consist of a trip, which will take place whenever the health conditions allow, for farmers to attend international experience exchange and training days in the Netherlands, with scheduled technical visits to the Koppert Biological Systems and Nunhems Vegetables Seeds, who also collaborate with this award.

Bankia and the Fundación CajaGranada demonstrate their firm commitment to supporting the agriculture sector through their funding and sponsorship of this award. Likewise, the companies Koppert España and BASF Vegetables Seeds attest their commitment to progress and innovation within the sector.