Osuna’s Casa de la Cultura hosted the 27th Hojiblanca de Oro Competition awards on Thursday 15 October. The Town Council organises it with SAT Santa Teresa during the green table olive harvest. This year’s ceremony also coincided with the International Day of Rural Women.
The prizewinners
- Golden Olive: Ignacio Martín de la Hinojosa.
- Silver Olive: Manuel Hinojosa Rodríguez.
- Bronze Olive: Javier Linares Roldán.
Farmers submit their samples anonymously to a specialist jury. Mayor Rosario Andújar, who presided alongside Agriculture councillor Benito Eslava and SAT Santa Teresa manager Ángel Angulo, described the competition as “a tribute that Osuna and the farming world deserve”.
Good harvest, poor prices
The celebration also provided an opportunity to discuss the sector’s difficulties. “This is the worst year for farming profitability and prices despite substantial production. A good harvest does not guarantee a profitable season”, Angulo warned. According to the manager, low prices could threaten the survival of many farms, particularly small rain-fed holdings. He therefore advocated farmers working together, joint marketing and diversifying buyers.
The mayor expressed solidarity with producers and called for regulatory mechanisms guaranteeing “fair remuneration for their work”. “Farmers do not want to depend on subsidies; they want their work to be profitable and protected”, she said. She also addressed storm damage to rural roads and negotiations on the next Common Agricultural Policy.
Women in farming
On Rural Women’s Day, Andújar championed women’s historic role in agriculture: “More and more are taking part in running and managing cooperatives and farms, but there is still a long way to go”.
The event ended with a talk by Jesús Pérez Aparicio, an IFAPA specialist, on “The salt problem in the table olive processing industry: opportunities and challenges”.
Source: press release from Osuna Town Council.
