Sustainability is understood to mean the set of policies aimed at making economic growth and environmental preservation compatible. FAO considers integrated production as the best system for protecting crops and as a basis for sustainable crop growth and a reduction in the risk posed by pesticides.
All producers choose measures that aim to promote biodiversity, such as the installation of bird or insect shelters, the establishment of ecological compensation zones, the maintenance of the vegetation cover of the soil, the use of flowering plants, etc. This means that there is a large amount of useful wildlife in our fields, such as the ladybird, which helps us against pests.
We know in which plots the products obtained have been cultivated and so, together with the operating book, we know all the actions that have been performed on each plantation: from fertilisation to irrigation, through to the methods used to treat pests.
All plantations are monitored for proper pest control and are advised by a technical engineer or agricultural engineer who will determine the alternative methods to chemical control that should be applied. More than 60% of our farms use biological methods for pest control.
All irrigation decisions are made with all the information available in order to minimise water consumption, while controlling the proper distribution and suitability of the means used for the same purpose.
All plantations in integrated production are certified by an ENAC-accredited body in compliance with the standard EN-17.065. The Catalan Council of Integrated Production contracts the control and certification bodies to guarantee compliance with the standard. In Catalonia there are more than 42,000 hectares certified in IP.