The water from the Transfer and the introduction of greenhouse cultivation made the miracle possible. Since the mid-seventies, the region of Murcia's pepper production has been growing at a great pace, especially in the Campo de Cartagena. Back then, the production barely exceeded 20,000 tons, but now this figure has multiplied by nine and reached over 176,000 tons.
"Without a doubt, agriculture has been growing here since the Transfer," says Mariano Zapata, head of the exchange warehouse sector at the Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruits and Vegetables from the region of Murcia (Proexport). Since the start of the pepper boom, "40 to 45 years ago, the production has not stopped growing and it continues to increase at a rate of "around 5% every year."
The success of this vegetable was a repeat of what had already happened in Almeria's greenhouses. Some producers in Campo de Cartagena followed their example, to the point that around 90% of the greenhouses that are still active in this agricultural area are devoted to the cultivation of peppers. Two varieties predominate: the Lamuyo, which drove the crop's success in Murcia and which now accounts for around 30% or 40% of the entire production; and bell peppers, a shorter, round variety that arrived about 25 years ago and now makes up the bulk of the activity (approximately 60% to 70% of the total, according to Zapata).
Source: laverdad.es