The Luxembourg fruit harvest began yesterday, seeing fresh and locally-grown apples, pears, plums, grapes and raspberries plucked from the trees to be consumed by the population of the Grand Duchy.
'Lëtzebuerger Landesobstbauveräin', the country's fruit-growing club, endeavours to draw attention to this regional process in order to highlight the benefits of regional fruit production. For instance, the shortened distance between producer and consumer as compared to imported products means less transport is involved and greenhouse gases are subsequently reduced, as well as signifying that the fruit may be collected when perfectly ripe and delivered to the customer at its optimal maturation point.
Direct sales from the farm or through regional supermarkets also enables fruit-growers to receive the greatest possible appreciation for their products.
This year's summer drought would have threatened the livelihood of Luxembourg's fruit-growers were it not for the water made available at fruit and horticultural holdings. It is for this reason that the Lëtzebuerger Landesobstbauveräin has appealed to the government to guarantee an adequate qater supply at these establishments for just such a scenario.
Another issue which plagued the fields was a mouse infestation, the handling of which required a large investment of time and energy from the farmers. However, although the harvest will reportedly by 10% smaller than in the previous year, the core orchards of the Grand Duchy have yielded good quality produce.
Luxembourg Minister of Agriculture, Fernand Etgen, who had been presented with a basket of fresh hand-picked fruit by the Lëtzebuerger Landesobstbauveräin, thanked the fruit growers and pledged to help resolve the issues experienced by the fruit-growing sector.
Photo by MAVPC (Minister of Agriculture, Fernand Etgen)
