Jesús Huertas, Quality and Production Coordinator at MOVIALSA: “The support of CDTI Innovation and FEDER funds is key at a crucial time for water resources in the agricultural sector in Castilla-La Mancha”

The history of MOVIALSA begins long before its formal constitution in 1983. The Huertas family developed part of its activity since the 18th century, initially linked to the characteristic windmills of La Mancha. They were one of the main private owners of these emblematic inventions. However, the industrial revolution and the massive influx of grain from America caused a decline in that traditional activity. Far from being left behind, the family decided to reinvent itself. The sixth generation acquired the property known as “La Casa Grande”, where they started their first winemaking, thus becoming producers in the area.

The change from the 19th to the 20th century brought an important boom in the wine sector in Spain, a context that the family was able to take advantage of to expand its agricultural heritage with large vineyards such as “Monte Don Lucio” and “La Blanca”. This strategic vision allowed to consolidate a legacy that, during the 80s and 90s, was professionalized with the creation of the Huertas Business Group, the germ of the current MOVIALSA.

Today the company has 135 workers —10 of whom belong to the R&D department— and a business structure that combines wine tradition and technology applied to the agri-food sector. Its lines of business include the sale of wines, musts, alcohols, wine derivatives, biofertilizers, orujo oil and horticultural production. A diversified model that strengthens its resilience and has allowed the company to consolidate itself both in the domestic and international market: about 32% of its total sales come from exports, a percentage that exceeds 54% if you consider only its traditional activities.

The company exports to technically demanding markets such as Germany, France and Italy, serving leading customers in its sectors. “Thanks to the support of CDTI Innovation we have been able to develop new products of high added value through the revaluation of by-products”, highlights Jesús Huertas Castellanos, chemical engineer and coordinator of Quality and Production of the company. This has opened the doors to markets such as Asia and America, where the demand for sustainable solutions is growing.

Transforming the water management of the vineyard

In this context of diversification, internationalization and continuous investment in knowledge, MOVIALSA is now moving forward with a project considered strategic by the company: the development, validation and implementation of a digital decision support tool (DSS) to optimize irrigation water in vineyards. An initiative that arises from a real and urgent need: increasing water efficiency in a semi-arid territory such as La Mancha, where agriculture coexists with scenarios of growing scarcity.

Since its inception, MOVIALSA has integrated sustainability into its business model. In fact, it allocates between 3% and 5% of its annual turnover to R&D activities, with projects aimed at the circular economy and the improvement of productive efficiency. However, this project represents a qualitative leap in agricultural digitalization.

“The present project is born from our commitment to optimize the irrigation of the vineyard through the development of a decision support tool in collaboration with the Desertification Research Center,” explains Huertas. The collaboration with the CIDE-CSIC allows to integrate advanced scientific knowledge into a technological solution easily applicable by winegrowers.

The tool is based on a mechanistic mathematical model that integrates climatic, edaphic and physiological variables of the vine, combined with vegetative vigor data obtained through satellite remote sensing. This multidisciplinary approach, which brings together agronomic, technological and environmental methodologies, allows irrigation to be differentiated according to soil management practices, as well as combinations of varieties and rootstocks. “This approach is a significant advance compared to the more traditional models, since it allows the irrigation to be adapted to the specific characteristics of each vineyard,” says Huertas.

A more efficient and resilient viticulture

One of the most outstanding benefits of the DSS is its ability to make personalized recommendations throughout the vineyard’s phenological cycle. This will allow the irrigation doses to be adjusted according to the oenological objective and the real water situation, reducing the associated energy expenditure and optimizing the available resources.

With these types of solutions, MOVIALSA hopes to achieve a triple impact. Firstly, an environmental impact: reduction of the water footprint, better adaptation to global warming and reduction of the thermal and water stress of the vine. Secondly, an economic impact: increased productivity, improved wine quality and optimisation of operating costs. And, thirdly, a social impact: an agriculture more prepared to face episodes of drought and a more responsible use of a resource that Huertas himself considers “essential for all”.

In addition, the company expects that this technology can be scaled up to other crops and agricultural regions with similar water problems. “The principles that regulate crop evapotranspiration are similar in any region, and the technologies applied for their determination are easily accessible,” which would allow the model to be adapted with appropriate calibration and validation.

Images of the work of MOVIALSA in Castilla-La Mancha

Technical and scientific challenges

The ambition of the project also brings with it important challenges. The heterogeneity of the vineyards is one of the main challenges, since it obliges to develop precise zoning systems. It also requires properly characterizing the variety and rootstock combinations to parameterize the model reliably. To this is added the need to integrate satellite images of greater spatial and temporal resolution to include the effect of plant covers on evapotranspiration.

The model’s operability also requires working with weather forecasts to simulate future irrigation scenarios. A set of technical barriers that MOVIALSA faces thanks, in the words of Huertas, to the collaboration with the CIDE, “which provides its scientific knowledge on water balance in the soil, the physiology of the vine and remote sensing techniques applied to water and soil management”. The alliance between basic science and applied knowledge is one of the pillars of the project.

A strategic impulse at a decisive moment

The contribution of the CDTI Innovation and the European ERDF funds has been decisive in launching this initiative. “This support has allowed us to activate with greater determination the necessary investment in this project,” says Huertas. This support, he says, is key “at a crucial time for water resources in the agricultural sector in Castilla-La Mancha”.

The impact of this funding extends beyond the company. For Huertas, this type of aid “provides facilities for companies that want to bet on R&D&I projects, all of them very necessary at present, even more so if they are related to the use of essential natural resources”.

Jesús Huertas also highlights the tractor effect of these projects on the Spanish economy, as they promote more efficient production processes, boost innovation in primary sectors and generate tangible benefits for society. In the words of Huertas “it is crucial that the CDTI Innovation and the FEDER funds continue to bet on projects that seek to optimize the use of natural resources that affect everyone directly”.

Intelligent water management

Beyond the impact for MOVIALSA, the project has a clear vocation of usefulness for the entire wine and agricultural sector of the region. The APP developed will allow the definition of irrigation strategies based on real data of the soil, the phenological state of the plant and meteorology, which can benefit any farmer looking for a more efficient use of water.

As Huertas points out, “this APP can be very useful for all farmers who want to make more efficient use of water, an increasingly widespread thought in our land.” The commitment to agricultural digitalization is, in this sense, a key piece for the future sustainability of the field.

MOVIALSA considers this project as an essential part of its long-term strategy, focused on reducing the carbon footprint, reducing the consumption of natural resources, revaluing waste and sustainable economic growth and committed to its environment.

The company’s commitment to sustainability, science and innovation shows that tradition and technology can move forward together. In a context marked by the challenge of water, MOVIALSA seeks to be at the forefront of intelligent irrigation management, with a project that will not only improve its own efficiency, but will contribute to a more responsible and rational use of a resource indispensable for the future of the agricultural sector.

CDTI Innovation

The Center for Technological Development and Innovation, CDTI E.P.E. It is a public company dependent on the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, whose objective is the promotion of technological innovation in the business environment. The mission of the CDTI is to ensure that the Spanish business fabric generates and transforms scientific and technical knowledge into globally competitive, sustainable and inclusive growth. In 2024, within the framework of a new strategic plan, the CDTI provided more than 2.3 billion euros of support to Spanish companies and startups.

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