Esquel, September 2024 - Within the framework of the RedER Chubut Project: Fair and Inclusive Energy Transition in Family Farming, in the productive axis of the Frutillas del Viento Project, an innovative initiative that unites horticultural production with renewable energy, continues to expand in the region. After four years of successful experiences in places on the Chubut plateau, the project is now expanding to include new work groups and production spaces, offering opportunities to more local producers, adding 12 new producers and a total of 18,000 strawberry seedlings distributed in the towns of Alto Rio Percy (Esquel), Cholila, Costa de Lepá, El Hoyo, Los Cipreses, Paso de Indios, Paso del Sapo and Tecka.

“The project is challenging a series of preconceptions with its vision and drive: that it is possible to produce vegetables in the steppe; that renewable energies are a vector to promote this development, and that climate change is not the apocalypse but a problem that we can solve by acting together,” said Luciana Proietti, co-founder and president of 500RPM.

Frutillas del Viento is part of the RedER Chubut project: Fair and Inclusive Energy Transition of Family Farming, co-financed by the European Union (EU) in Argentina starting this year; and is carried out by the 500RPM Foundation in collaboration with the Ibero-American Union of Municipalists (UIM) and the Patagonia Natural Foundation (FPN). Its implementation in the territory has the technical support of INTA Esquel, which ensures an orientation adapted to the needs of local producers.

Innovative use of renewable energy in irrigation

The project is distinguished by its innovative approach to the use of renewable energy to improve agricultural production. Through the installation of clean energy generation systems, such as solar panels and/or low-power wind turbines, water is pumped to reservoirs where it is stored, and from there it flows by gravity to drip irrigation belts for strawberry cultivation, which are developed in micro tunnels. This not only optimizes the use of water, but also ensures more sustainable and efficient production. INTA accompanies these processes with an agroecological approach, while highlighting the quality of the production since the long summer days and short, cool nights allow for more sugars in the fruit.

The project also has the support of the technical and agricultural schools in the region, which are trained in the manufacture of wind turbines. This year, four units have already been built at the agricultural schools No. 719 "Peñi Hué" in Gobernador Costa, No. 733 in Gaiman and "CEA Valle de Cholila" and at the Technical School No. 728 "Alfonsina Storni" in Puerto Madryn; and two more will be built at the Agricultural School No. 740 "EMETA" in Trevelin and at the Polytechnic School No. 701 in Esquel. These wind turbines will be used for plantations. Guillermo Pleitavino, a member of the 500RPM Foundation, highlighted the importance of this expansion: "It is very satisfying to see that enthusiasm for this proposal is spreading. The support of the European Union strengthens the development of the project and allows us to open more doors to continue working. We plan to be able to build twenty-four new facilities not only in mountain areas, but also on the coast. Added to this is the work that we will be able to coordinate with local governments to establish public policies that contribute to this development, and to establish what inputs will be necessary to think about energy transition agendas."

Expansion of the productive matrix

The project also has its sights set on the future of sustainable agricultural production in Chubut. "This is an innovation project. We are constantly searching for new technologies, both in terms of energy and production. We started working with strawberries because we understand that there is a demand in the market that cannot be satisfied, but we do not rule out that at some point this technology can be used for other crops," Pleitavino explained.

Educational and technical linkages

A key feature of Frutillas del Viento is its educational component. The initiative not only improves farmers' production, but also trains teachers and students from technical schools so that they can provide technical assistance in the repair and maintenance of renewable energy systems. This represents a solution to a historical challenge in the region: the lack of technical assistance in energy-generating equipment for irrigation.

Eduardo Miserendino, technical advisor at INTA Esquel, stressed the importance of teamwork for the success of the project: "We have formed a great team. Our tasks include surveying the conditions of the places where the participants live, ensuring that the requirements for the facilities are met, and providing training and support throughout the process." The project already has about 20 producers, who are located in a vast area that extends from El Hoyo to Tecka on the north-south axis, and to Paso del Sapo and Paso de Indios, deep into the steppe. It is projected to reach 50 more producers in the next three years. Growth is accompanied by the formation of new technical teams and support in marketing.

“This year, 12 new producers are joining, after going through an exhaustive selection process, which we have improved each year, and we are gratified to see the speed of progress in the work of tilling the land and building the ridges. Now, most of them are working on the construction of the microtunnels and we hope to be planting at the end of September,” said Cristina Dellacanonica, an agricultural engineer from INTA involved in the project.

Stories of local producers

Simon Marchand, a producer from Cholila, is one of the beneficiaries of the project and will begin to grow strawberries with the support of Frutillas del Viento. "We are interested in being part of this initiative, we see it as an investment and an opportunity to diversify work in the field. In Cholila we are twelve kilometers from the town, we do not have electricity, only solar energy generators. We plan to start with about six hundred plants and continue with the support of INTA in this alternative that we are very excited about," said Marchand.

The Frutillas del Viento Project continues to make firm progress towards a fair and inclusive energy transition in the agricultural sector of Chubut, consolidating itself as a model for sustainable production in the region.

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