The Vice President of the Andalusian Government, the Regional Minister of Economy and the President of the Andalusian Parliament have recently visited Kimitec, where they could confirm the prominent role of its MAAVi Innovation Center in the transformation of conventional agriculture into a natural and productive model.

The Vice President of the Andalusian Government, Juan Marín, and the Regional Minister of Economy, Rogelio Velasco, have recently visited Kimitec’s headquarters in Vícar, Almería. According to Velasco, Kimitec’s state-of-the-art facilities and technology, as well as its team of experts and unique research model, left them “open-mouthed”.

Accompanied by the President of the Andalusian Parliament, Marta Bosquet; the Director of the IDEA Agency, María del Castillo Rueda, and other local authorities, they had the opportunity to see Kimitec’s MAAVi Innovation Center, the largest research center dedicated to natural agriculture in Europe.

During their visit, the members of the Andalusian Government and the other authorities were introduced to Kimitec’s unique research model. They learned how the company tries to establish synergies between four different natural sources (Botany, Microbiology, Microalgae and Green Chemistry), in search of natural molecules as effective as synthetic chemicals that might prove useful for the development of the natural solutions farmers need in their transition to a more natural and productive agriculture.

Velasco highlights: “Today, we’ve witnessed how a scientific research model can put us at the forefront of current knowledge, and help us expand our limits.” And he adds: “It’s impressive that here, in Almería, an isolated city in many ways, there are companies of such a high caliber.”

Kimitec’s vision has now become the center of everyone’s attention, after the European Union presented, slightly over a year ago, its Farm to Fork strategy, which aims to transform the entire European agricultural sector by reducing, before 2030, the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers in our food production system, by 50% and 20% respectively.

To achieve that, the company counts on the support of the largest research center dedicated to natural agriculture in Europe, their MAAVi Innovation Center. The center was inaugurated in late 2019 and offers cutting-edge equipment and a research team of over 50 people, all of them devoted to finding a natural solution for the main issues facing conventional agriculture: Pests, diseases, environmental conditions, climate change, efficient water and nutrient management, quality, organoleptic properties and post-harvest life. Kimitec researches and develops biostimulants, biopesticides, pre- and probiotics, and seed treatments, which are later distributed to over 94 countries around the world.

In this sense, Marín said: “We’ve met the different research teams that are working in a field that might not be getting the attention it should: The development of natural solutions for agriculture.”

The researchers at MAAVi currently have 46 projects in the pipeline, all of them focused on developing natural, effective and productive agricultural solutions, which will help growers achieve zero residue and maintain, at the same time, their productivity. Thus, Kimitec facilitates the producers’ transition to natural agriculture, without harming people’s health and the environment.

At the end of their visit, the regional authorities could see the expansion works of Kimitec’s MAAVi Innovation Center. A new construction phase that will increase the company’s productive capacity, as well as its research center, factory and offices, for which they have received the support of the Regional Government of Andalusia, through the IDEA Agency and the Economic Transformation Department, with a 13.5 million euro investment.

Kimitec has currently 226 employees. When the new construction phase is over and the new premises are fully operational, at least 100 more direct positions will be created, reaching a total task force of over 320 people in the coming years. According to Marín, “all of them working in a research project that shows, once more, that in Andalusia, with initiative, training and talent, we can create companies that add great value to our products in a major sector such as our region’s agrifood industry.”

Their visit ended with a presentation of the company’s MAAVi Foundation and its MAAVi Football Club. They were really impressed by Kimitec’s initiative and their social work. Velasco said: “This extraordinary initiative shows that Kimitec is not only committed to making their business model successful, but also to promoting the cultural exchange and integration of countless children of over 200 nationalities in western Almería.”