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The presence of a pair of otters with their young this spring has been the moment of greatest excitement in the orange grove of Carmona (Seville) where a way of cultivating has developed that has hooked a German supermarket chain and the conservation organization WWF. The rows of orange trees are part of the ecosystem that naturally covers this soil. No weeds are uprooted, no hedges, borders or non-agricultural areas are sprayed, and the presence of fauna is encouraged, from insects to birds of prey.

The Zitrus project already adds some 1,500 hectares of citrus in Seville, on a dozen farms. His alma mater and coordinator is Luis Bolaños, owner of two farms and agricultural businessman. Fight for a dream that you believed in before the German chain ENEKO and WWF joined, in 2016, a radical change in the fertile plain of the Guadalquivir.

" Agriculture is more guilty of destroying the natural environment than we think; it seems that the big infrastructures are responsible, but where a plow has been inserted, it has been done," says Bolaños, a Sevillian agricultural engineer who has 30 years exporting oranges through his company, Naturgreen.

His belief that other agriculture is possible comes through hunting. Bolaños remembers that, as a child, a large thrush of thrushes meant killing at least 100 birds, "and now the same is said with ten; we have decimated them, like so many others." The clearing or fumigation of wild areas of the cultivation fields, such as streams or boundaries, eliminating their function as a refuge for fauna and flora without obtaining agrarian benefit; or the shortage of rabbits and hares, were impacts that prompted him to undertake this initiative.

His initial idea - PROOF (Protection and Recovery of Original Fauna) - materialized in a project called Zitrus. " I wanted to recover life in the plantations, that is, biodiversity: insects, amphibians, birds, mammals, native plants and trees , " says Bolaños.

Felipe Fuentelsaz, from WWF, explains that "there is no project like it; there are very good ones in water, in biodiversity ... but not in everything at the same time and within a commercial environment" so competitive as well.

Nests in the trees

Between the orange trees appear bands of forbidden passage. It is because nests of nightjars have appeared, a rare almost invisible bird that nests on the ground. Ten specialists tour the farm in search of valuable details such as this, wildlife, compatible with the production figures of your company, around 40 million kilos of citrus.

Detail of a nest in an orange tree M.

It is the orange grove . The grass sometimes reaches the chest of Bolaños and his technicians. Animals that 'move' to the orange grove multiply. Foxes, bastard snakes, the impressive ocellated lizard, kestrels, dormouse, ... And, on it, some crown jewels. For example, the marsh harrier, and none other than the very rare raptor osprey, object of a powerful recovery program in Cádiz and Huelva, which fishes on the Carmona farm.

The artificial irrigation raft is so naturalized that there is no one who recognizes its use. Thanks to this, otters reproduce and birds of prey enjoy innkeepers to scan the territory and eat fish.

"It is possible to integrate biodiversity into agricultural farms," adds Fuentelsaz. "You do not lose, but you win, also in a good image in the market." Their oranges bear the panda bear logo on the bags, and that in the German market has been an impact. The country's media have traveled to Seville to explain this way of farming.

"This is a necessary revolution", adds the Sevillian agronomist, "the future leads to more environmentally friendly production, organic products underline the guarantees for the consumer, but do not have the biodiversity component". The conflict of 'wild agriculture' with organic products in use may arise. The head of WWF believes that these "should reintroduce biodiversity, and be more efficient in the use of water, but both are lines that will unite."

A fox M.

The 'plankton' of the air

In the orange grove the air plankton flies , as Bolaños defines it, the insects. They form the base of the trophic pyramid which, at the moment, has otters and eagles at the top. Its objective is to reach 2,000 hectares by September, and it already accommodates more than 20 animal species in danger or vulnerable situations.

"Let's turn our plantations into the forests of the future full of biodiversity," says Bolaños, who has taught more than 150 courses and workshops to medium and small farmers, expanding this new concept of agriculture. 

The engineer admits the cost of the technical equipment that is in charge of this hidden refuge of life to an orange grove. But avoiding chemistry, helping the presence of fauna, and improving water efficiency, leads to better prices in the markets where these oranges are directed with a stamp that is beyond ecology.

Now Luis Bolaños and his team are planting rose bushes. Its thorns are essential for the shrike, a bird that hooks on them the insects it captures to eat them when it has a hole. An operator takes a bastard snake, the ocellated lizard scampers protected by more than 14 kilometers of restored boundaries, and in nest boxes they breed owlets and owls, among orange trees.

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