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DESCRIPTION OF MAIN SECTORS
The farming and fishing sector accounted for 1,91% of the total population employed in the region in 2008.
The basic characteristics of the sector are the following:
 | Preponderance of intensive, irrigated and export-based
agriculture. A combination of quality products and the local climatic conditions places the region ahead of other countries in the sector.
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| Dualism between dry farming and irrigation, or between the interior and the coast, with very different levels of agricultural profit generated.
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| High level of division of land into plots and smallholdings, based on intensive cultivation and property transfer practices.
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| Great capacity to innovate in products and techniques.
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| Low importance of cattle farming, which is of a merely complementary nature.
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| Lower importance of fishing, which is basically coastal-based.
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| Traditional concern for quality, based on an export tradition.
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This agricultural activity results in the following agricultural products:
MAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
| Production tonnes | Percentage of total
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| Cereals | 180.655 | 3,2% |
| Tubers | 53.334 | 1% |
| Vegetables | 533.795 | 9,5% |
| Other crops | 160.427 | 2,8% |
| Citrus | 3.947.889 | 70,5% |
| Fruit | 152.080 | 2,7% |
| Vineyards and olives | 565.267 | 10,1% |
| Total | 5.593.447 | 100% |
Source: Valencia regional government (Generalitat Valenciana), Regional Ministry of Agriculture,
Fishing and Foodstuffs (Conselleria de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación).
The following products are notable in terms of production volume:
| Among the cereals, rice ranks first in the Valencia Region, with 120.001 tonnes produced.
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| In the cultivated vegetables, the major volume of production corresponds to the tomato followed of watermelon, lettuce, artichoke and melon.
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| With regard to citrus fruits, the largest volume corresponds to oranges, followed by tangerines and lemons.
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| Among non-citrus fruits, the majority of production is dedicated to almonds, followed by peaches and plums.
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| As far as vineyards are concerned, grapes destined for transformation (juices, wines, etc.) are the most important product.
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| In the olive sector, the production of olive oil takes precedence over olives sold as foodstuff.
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| Lastly, potatoes are the leading tuber product, followed by tiger nut plants.
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The historic process undergone by the region has consolidated intensive, irrigated agricultural customs in Valencia, which has successively assimilated technological innovations which make good use of scarce production resources – arable land and water. In this way, it has been possible to achieve a significant growth in productivity per hectare (traditionally above the Spanish average), whilst manpower requirements remain at a relatively high level (usually in the context of small farms). The adoption of localised drip-irrigation is more and more common and encouraged by the authorities due its water-saving advantages. The municipality of Alcalalí (Alicante) was one of the pioneers in the introduction of localised communal irrigation at the beginning of the 1980’s.
It is worth highlighting the significant work put into increasing quality that has been carried out with the institutional support of the Regional Ministry for Agriculture, Fishing and Foodstuffs (Conselleria de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación) and the introduction of elements such as regional and specific branding.
Agricultural research is carried out mainly through the Valencian Institute for Agricultural Research (IVIA – Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias), which is located in Moncada, as well as universities and the Institute of Food Technology and Agro-chemistry (IATA– Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de los Alimentos), which are dependent on the Supreme Council for Scientific research (CSIC – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas).
The IVIA is world-renowned in citrus matters, as is the Technological Agriculture and Food Institute (Instituto Tecnológico Agroalimentario), located in the Paterna Technological park, and the region’s experimentation centres:
| E.E. de Vila-real (citrus cultivation)
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| E.E. de Montcada (vegetables)
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| E.E. de Carcaixent (citrus cultivation)
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| E.E. de Llutxent (Fruit cultivation)
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| E.E. de Elx (vegetables)
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| E.E. de Sueca (Rice)
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| E.E. de Requena (Wine production and oenology)
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All this underlines the intention of the Valencia administration to achieve a food industry offer that is both wide-ranging and characterised by high productivity and quality.
It is also worth noting once more the sector’s strong presence in the export market, with exports worth 2,746 million euros spread among a few products, mainly fruit (especially citrus) and vegetables
The principal destination of Valencia agricultural produce is the European Union. The value of agricultural product exports represents around 12% of the total exports of the Valencia Region in 2008.
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