Two and a half years ago Gerard van Loon left the Netherlands for the Italian Puglia to run a Bed & Breakfast with his wife and to work for Greenery Italia a few days a week. The B&B activities have now come to a halt due to the outbreak of the Corona virus. "We had envisioned many different possible scenarios when we emigrated, but not this virus scenario," Gerard recalls. The 'fruit activities' will continue as normal. Over the years he has built up many contacts with local growers and that is bearing its first fruits: redcurrants, raspberries, strawberries and Cumelos, that is.
"It is not, as it is in the Netherlands, ten or twenty hectares at the same time, but we have started carefully with a few smaller cultivation projects to supply the Italian supermarkets with high-quality varieties," says Gerard. "We started with redcurrants, because this is a somewhat easier product to cultivate with regard to cultivation and harvesting. We have planted 1 hectare of the Junifer variety. This is a somewhat earlier variety, which requires less cold. As a test we placed the tunnels over them. Hopefully we can start a little earlier than the Dutch harvest. The cultivation is quite a challenge, because the question is whether the redcurrants will get enough cold and whether they will burn in the summer, but we will see what happens. If we are satisfied with the result, we will expand by another hectare next year. "
A lesser known fruit is the Cumelo, a cross between a cucumber and a melon, which is grown only in Puglia. "Last year we supplied this to the Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo for the first time, and that was an unexpected success," says Gerard. "For this year we have placed 150,000 plants, double the amount of last year. You learn every season and so we are also better prepared for the season this year. We will not start this year in May, as the weather can still be changeable here, but we want to supply the Cumelos this year in the summer months of June, July and August. We will also harvest the fruits a little less ripe this year and therefore a little smaller, so that they arrive perfectly in the Netherlands. The weather conditions have been favourable so far. The Cumelos grow here between ancient - protected - olive trees, so that is a sight in itself. "
Gerard also has the first raspberries from the same supplier as the Cumelos this year. "I visited several growers with him in the Netherlands and he said he would like to try cultivation himself. We grow the raspberries in a plastic tunnel greenhouse, where outdoor plants are normally grown. The cultivation is going very well for the first year. The cultivation is now in the middle of production. The grower employs a good agronomist who understands and he achieves remarkably high productions for the first year. We started with 0.5 hectares with the Majestic variety from Plant Sciences and will certainly expand if successful. "
Gerard would like to expand the local product range in the coming period. "Together with fruit breeder Fresh Forward and AgriFoodDesign, we are looking at whether we can introduce new strawberry varieties in Basilicata and Puglia. This is a large strawberry region, but only the variety Candonga is currently really grown. We are already growing the Calinda variety from Fresh Forward for the second year on approximately two hectares in the provinces of Basilicata and Puglia, the taste and shelf life are fantastic, but we still have a lot to learn in cultivation before we can really scale up. It is not an easy process, but we are making progress. We are also looking at whether we can start growing blueberries here in the region with a grape grower, but I also see opportunities with regional products. The Cumelo was a good example of this, but there are more typical regional products with which we can start. But it is a long way. First you have to gain the confidence of the growers. "
"The soft fruit consumption in southern Italy is at a relatively low level. So we see the necessary growth potential for this. The conditions are that you have a certain scale, you have arranged logistics well and can harvest a heterogeneous product with the right varieties. We are working hard to build up step-by-step with the Italian retailers. Italians like to work with Italian products, so that is an advantage. The large volumes are still lacking, but the supermarkets we are sending samples are very enthusiastic and all want to continue", concludes Gerard, who emphasises that he has never regretted his emigration. "The Bed & Breakfast is going great. Now it has come to a standstill, but that actually applies all over the world. Now health is the most important thing."
For more information:
Gerard van Loon
Tel: 0039 3371284404
[email protected]
