Interviews

Manuel Mariano Ribeiro Fialho was born in Moura on September 25, 1942.

He has a degree in mechanical engineering and has held various management positions for more than four decades in Portugal and abroad, including Manager of the Cooperative between 1992 and 2012. Although he is not an olive grower, several of his immediate family members are, and they are members of the Cooperativa de Moura e Barrancos.

He began his responsibilities as Manager of the Cooperative at the beginning of 1992, when he returned from Brazil after several years' experience managing subsidiaries of multinational companies. Having served in the colonial war in Guinea, he recalls the importance of olive oil in that context: "If you didn't give the troops cod cooked with potatoes and olive oil, you'd be in trouble!".

That February 30 years ago, he confesses, his knowledge of the Cooperative's financial situation almost led him to decline an invitation from two great friends, Manuel de Brito and João Costa. He definitely decided to take on the challenge when he saw seven of his most dedicated partners, including the eldest, Mr. BES, get out of an old Peugeot van next to the BES headquarters in Lisbon. Joaquim Matado, the most optimistic of them all. He felt that there was a strength in that group to win, and he wanted to help solve the Cooperative's problems.

"Manuel de Brito opened the doors," he recalls, "and that's how they got to the Secretary of State for Agriculture and from him to his Finance colleague (who was much harder to convince)." They immediately began to prepare all the necessary elements and, nine months later, "the amount of money that allowed the Cooperative to breathe again" entered the Cooperative's account.

"But there was no end to the headaches: in fact, the Cooperative was paying for the olives badly and at bad times. The members had to be brought back. This was perhaps the most difficult effort, with meetings in Moura and in the villages." He believes that these meetings were fundamental in encouraging group spirit in the Cooperative.

He doesn't forget the almost meteoric path of the Cooperative's evolution since its formation, when he bought the Lagar from Sr. Vitor Guedes, where today there is a building materials warehouse. The Cooperative then acquired the olive press from Mr. Fernandes Costa and, finally, the mill of the Sociedade dos Azeites, owned by the Almodôvar family. He believes that this was the most exciting time in the life of the Cooperative, but with one major drawback: "The well-known step bigger than its legs. And it was a big one, exhausting all possibilities of access to credit." He recalls his conversations with Mr. Leonardo Matado, a dedicated cooperator, who made him see his inability to curb the momentum of successive investments.

He believes that the sector is currently in an increasingly competitive situation and knows that there is absolutely nothing more important for a cooperative like the one in Moura and Barrancos than to pay its members competitively as soon as possible. He also says that this is one of the elements of good management, and that "it's good management that makes the difference". Just as elements of good management are market information, well-executed planning, the associated logistics and the quality of the oil. He recalls that the "Cordovil" variety is an old passion.

"I've been talking to you mainly about the industrial area, which was my area. But it's important to remember that on my toast in the morning, there's not a drop of butter. What's the point if we have such high quality olive oil?"