COAGRISÁN has two million tomato plants ready for planting.

In the grafting activity, the union of pattern and variety, More than a hundred people from the municipality have worked.

Three weeks late on the usual campaign schedule, The COAGRISÁN agricultural cooperative already has almost two million tomato plants available that will soon begin to serve members and other companies in the sector..

The cause of the delay, common to the entire export sector, It is due to the lack of agreement between the administrations and the sector, organized in the Platform for the Defense of Tomatoes, for the payment of the additional financing estimated in 22,5 million euros (14€M from the Government of the Canary Islands and €8.5M from the Ministry of Agriculture).

The principle of agreement reached with the Government of the Canary Islands last day 5 July through which the Executive undertakes to pay five million euros, plus the advance of transportation compensation for the year 2013 by the Ministry of Development, They have been decisive in starting the campaign that seemed in danger.

This has been translated, above all, in maintaining employment, which in the case of La Aldea is the main economic engine of the municipality. Also, On the island of Tenerife and Fuerteventura and the southeast of Gran Canaria, the activity of seedbed planting has maintained summer jobs.

Despite the delay in the start of the activity - it is not yet known how it will affect the development of the campaign- COAGRISÁN's optimism is presented as the best value in turbulent times to start an atypical harvest.

The activity of planting seedbeds has allowed for yet another year the incorporation of more than a hundred people who, for almost three months, They have been in charge of the execution of the grafts, care in the humidity tunnel and transfer to the different areas of the production greenhouse according to the stage of the plants.

The graft between the rootstock plant and the variety plant is the most laborious work since it consists of making the union between both plants through a cut that is made to each of them.. Subsequently, they are joined using a clamp that will allow the development of the “new” plant..

The technicians explain that the plants must pass one by one through the hands of the operators to carry out this activity. In order to guarantee full production, a 20% more plants with which to replace those that fail to progress or that did not germinate.

Next week, work will begin on the farms and greenhouses where the first one hundred thousand plants will be taken and for whose planting new workers will be added., in many cases, They will continue to carry out the activity in the same greenhouse during the rest of the campaign.