• The technology centre has delivered its annual donation to the Araba Food Bank, renewing the charitable commitment it has maintained with the organisation since 2015.
• The products, which come from the organisation’s experimental farm, include potatoes, onions and turnips.
• As a new development, part of these crops come from agrovoltaic trials, in addition to the usual seed improvement trials.

 

NEIKER has renewed its commitment to solidarity with the Araba Food Bank for another year. As part of the 2025 campaign, the technology centre has donated a total of 33,548 kilos of agricultural products, almost triple the amount donated last year, which totalled 12,600 kilos.

The bulk of the donation consists of potatoes, with 32,900 kilos, although this year the basket has been diversified with the delivery of 391 kilos of onions and 257 kilos of turnips, which have been grown on the centre’s experimental farm in Arkaute.

Science against waste

The value of this initiative lies in the origin of the products. These are surpluses derived from the centre’s scientific activity, mainly from “pre-control” and “post-control” seed trials. In addition, as a new feature this year, part of the food comes from the agrovoltaic trial, in which NEIKER is researching the compatibility between agricultural production and solar energy generation.

“Through this initiative, we want to achieve a twofold objective. On the one hand, to support families in the region, which now number 3,000 beneficiaries, and, on the other, to promote the circular economy and the fight against waste, ensuring that the resources resulting from research have a second useful life,” explains Juan Bautista Relloso, Equipment and Infrastructure Coordinator and Crop Technician in the Plant Production Department at NEIKER.

Collaboration chain

For logistics management, the campaign has had the support of the UDAPA cooperative, which is responsible for bagging the products to facilitate their handling and distribution.

Deliveries to the Araba Food Bank, chaired by Daniel Fernández, were made in stages between 2 October and 4 December, thus consolidating the collaboration between the two entities since 2015.