The Ministry of Agriculture awards a farmer from Alcaudete for the use of technological innovations to combat the effects of drought in the olive grove. María José Serrano Arnau is a farmer in Alcaudete. In her daily work, she strives to introduce several technological innovations aimed at combating the effects of drought in the olive grove on her farm. Not only does she benefit from the knowledge she extracts, but other farms also benefit from it.
This work has earned her one of the Excellence Awards for Innovation for Rural Women, in the category of Excellence in Agricultural Innovation. Minister Luis Planas was present these awards on October 13th, 2022, two days before the commemoration of International Rural Women’s Day.
María José Serrano Arnau holds a degree in Law and has been professionally dedicated to agriculture since 2006 as the owner of a farm in Alcaudete. Additionally, she is a member of the Virgen del Perpetuo Socorro Cooperative, of which she has been a member of the board of directors since 2019.
From this position, she maintained contact with professors from the Department of Agricultural Chemistry at the University of Granada, inquiring about several devices they had patented to improve crop efficiency. From there, she began to promote a series of activities to encourage the use of these technological innovations, which combat water stress in olive groves, among other farmers. “The goal is to make farms more profitable while conserving an immense forest of olive trees, making them increasingly ecological and sustainable” explains Government Subdelegate Catalina Madueño.