1ª Convención Profesional para Agricultores, Fondos de Inversión y 'Family Offices'
By Juan Vilar, strategic consultant.
Arable land on our planet represents less than 4% of all available surface area. Furthermore, less than 0.8% of those 510 million square kilometers remain unexploited, which is roughly equivalent to the size of India.
Therefore, land is a scarce and valuable resource, especially when it has access to usable water. According to University of California astrophysicist Greg Laughlin, the total value of planet Earth is estimated at 5 quadrillion euros.
With more than 8 billion people inhabiting our planet, approximately 40% face restrictions in access to water and 900 million completely lack access to it. Furthermore, a significant number of people suffer from chronic malnutrition today.
Given that 99.7% of the calories consumed by the Earth's inhabitants come from agriculture and livestock, the demand for land for agriculture has experienced a notable increase worldwide.
This has been evidenced in the growing acquisition of agricultural holdings by businessmen from other sectors, such as Bill Gates, who owns more than 1 million hectares of arable land in 19 states, John Malone, president of Liberty, with 900 thousand hectares, and Ted Turner, founder of CNN, with 600 thousand hectares of property. This demand has generated the presence of more than 900 investment funds in the Iberian Peninsula, which own land valued at more than 100 billion euros, without counting family offices and traditional farmers.
Considering the high demand for land in Aragon today, due to factors such as price, availability of land and access to water for irrigation, on May 16 the 1st Professional Convention for Farmers, Investment Funds and Family Offices in La Finca CAMPILLO, 50700 Caspe (Zaragoza). At this event, several key topics were explored, including the agricultural market (supply, demand, price trends, countries of interest, predominant production and consumption), the selection of crops based on their competitive and added value, profitability, productivity and adaptability.
In addition, the price of land (availability, irrigation systems, dryland conditions, dimensions, available surface, value of farms, strategic locations and revaluation potential) was discussed, as well as the future of the agricultural sector (the value of the availability of water, its origin, the current degree of innovation and its availability), crop varieties, collection systems, cultivation methods and the current state of the agribusiness.
Issues related to the final destination of the agricultural product or water as a multiplier element of its value, among other aspects, were also addressed. These topics were presented by prominent and experienced speakers, forming a program of great relevance and excellence.
One of the companies that has contributed to making this event possible is Bioiberica Salud Vegetal, a leader in the field of biostimulation and recognized as a pioneer in the Andalusian olive sector for more than 35 years. Currently, its influence extends to more than 70 countries and has the support of leading research centers, with more than 1,500 agronomic trials carried out.
Bioiberica stands out for offering unique solutions in the market, which are innovative and work towards a more profitable agriculture for producers and sustainable for all. A notable example of their commitment to innovation is the exclusive Enzyneer® technology they develop to obtain unique biostimulant products.