The Summer Berry Company Portugal (TSBC) has achieved more than 60 per cent self-sufficiency in water usage, through a combination of measures to improve the producer’s water resilience.
The Portuguese soft fruit producer, which is a major supplier to the UK and other European markets, has invested in rainwater collection and storage infrastructure, alongside advanced recirculation systems that recover, treat and reuse drainage water and fertilisers in the production cycle.
This marks a significant step in the company’s water resilience strategy, with self-sufficiency increasing from zero per cent in 2021 to 43 per cent in 2022, 53 per cent in 2023, 60 per cent in 2024 and 62 per cent in 2025. More than six in every 10 litres used on its farms now come from rainwater.
The company shared these practices during a recent Climate Farm Demo cross-visit at its site in southwest Alentejo. Climate Farm Demo, an initiative working towards a carbon-neutral agricultural sector by 2050 in line with the European Green Deal. And the event brought together farmers, advisors and project partners for two days of peer-to-peer exchange on practical approaches to water scarcity in agriculture – one of the project’s key challenges for Mediterranean farming.
Organised by the Portuguese agribusiness consultancy Consulai, the visit welcomed participants to TSBC’s production facilities to see how sustainable water management is built into modern berry production. The programme also included field visits to two other growers, one with horticulture and wine production, the other a livestock farm.
A key message was that effective water management must be adapted to local conditions while drawing on knowledge shared across Europe.
Participants focused on the close link between water management, soil health, biodiversity and productive resilience – observing how organic inputs, cover crops, hedgerows and vegetation cover can improve water retention, regulate flows, protect water quality and support beneficial insects and pollinators that contribute to healthy, consistent crop production.
Practices on show included open and closed irrigation circuits, water treatment with filtration and disinfection, rainwater storage, grass cover inter-rows, and ecological focus areas supporting biological control, pollination, water protection and long-term production resilience.
“As water scarcity becomes an increasingly significant challenge for agriculture across Southern Europe, collaboration and knowledge exchange are essential to building resilience,” said Silvina Morais, head of ESG at TSBC.
“In Portugal, we have increased water self-sufficiency from zero per cent in 2021 to 62 per cent in 2025, while also focusing on soil health and biodiversity as key drivers of resilient, high-quality production.”
The Portuguese cross-visit will contribute to strengthening knowledge exchange across the Climate Farm Demo network, and the lessons learned from industry peers are hoped to inspire participants to share and adapt the observed practices in their respective countries, helping accelerate the adoption of climate-smart farming practices across Europe.
