Interviews

Francisco Correia Matado has been an olive grower and member of the Moura and Barrancos Cooperative for 41 years.

Ever since he was a little boy, he heard his parents talking about the Cooperative and it wasn't long after he started working that he knew his future would be linked to olive growing and the Cooperative.

The son and grandson of members, he joined the Cooperative's Board of Directors in the first decade of the millennium and, in three terms, left an important mark on what was one of its most progressive periods.

"My fundamental job on the Board was - at that time - to tell the members that you don't have a hectare of olive groves to receive 30 contos." It was "changing the mentality of my colleagues".

He attributes a large part of the Cooperative's success to the Presidents he has had in successive terms and believes that, from a forward-looking perspective, "the right things are being done". He believes that the key to the Cooperative's success is "keeping the members together" and the strategic focus on "packaged olive oil".

He believes that, thanks to the work carried out daily by the cooperative, our members "are the ones who, when they look at an olive grove and the type of soil, know best how to assess the quality of the olives".

This is one of the reasons why he believes consumers should choose Azeite de Moura. Added to this is the fact that it differs from other olive oils by combining the Galega variety - dominant in Portugal until a few years ago - with the Cordovil and Verdeal varieties, "which only exist on the left bank of the Guadiana".

"If that's not enough" - he recommends with a smile - "buy some Azeite de Moura, if only because it's ours! If you buy other people's, we'll be worse off!"