The TURTOLIO project, in which NEIKER-Tecnalia participates, has been awarded the “Agrarian Innovation” Prize

TURTOLIO is developed by the operating group formed by NEIKER-Tecnalia, Quesería Kerixara, Kerizara Agroturismo and NSG-Noemí Salazar Gómez, and is part of the Cooperation and Innovation projects to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the Basque Government’s agricultural sector , both from the point of view of raw materials for animal feed, and for the use of renewable energies.The rapeseed is a crop that is being integrated into the crop rotation of Araba for almost three decades, in an area wherw thw chief crops are cereal, potato and beet. When this oilseed is pressed, rapeseed fat cake is obtained, which is used for animal feed, and oil that can be used as fuel. The use of this vegetable oil as fuel in boilers allows the agents of the primary sector to use biofuel from local production and represents a sustainable opportunity for its use. At the same time, rapeseed cake is of high nutritional quality for animal feed and its use allows to reduce the dependence on the diet towards other ingredients that come from international markets, which encourages the use of local raw materials.The TURTOLIO project promotes cooperation work and the culture of innovation for a sustainable and inclusive growth of the dairy sector of Latxa breed, with the production of artisanal cheese under the Idiazabal brand. The work carried out has managed to promote self-consumption, self-sufficiency and the circular and local economy. In parallel, the project has shown an increase in the energy efficiency of the latxa sheep farms and the reduction of the carbon footprint of the Idiazabal brand cheese. With all this, it is possible to increase the sustainability and competitiveness of the latxa sheep farms.About NEIKER-TecnaliaThe Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development NEIKER-Tecnalia, is a public entity of the Economic Development and Infrastructure department of the Basque Government, whose aim is to develop knowledge and innovative and transferable solutions that add value to the agri-food sector to improve its competitiveness, with criteria of respect for the environment , ensuring its current and future sustainability, and actively contributing to the economic and social development of our environment.About Kerixara

Kerixara s.l.l., leader of the TURTOLIO project, is an exploitation of milk sheep of Latxa sheep breed, producer of  Idiazabal brand cheese in an artisanal way. The partners of the farm, Martin and Felix Ajuria, have been working for years on the innovation of feeding their flocks and, more recently, on cooperation projects, sensitized both to the competitiveness of the sector and to the environment.

About Kerizara Agrotourism

Kerizara is an agrotourism house, partner of the Nekatur network. The manager has been working for years on energy independence, combining the use of diesel with local renewable energy sources. www.kerizara.es

About NSG-Noemí Salazar Gómez

Specialized consulting in the agri-food sector, where agronomists work. The person responsible brings experience as responsible for rural development projects and their dissemination within and outside the agricultural sector, as well as coordinating cooperation projects linked to the agricultural and livestock sector. www.noemisalazar.com