The Viver Cooperative celebrated its 35th anniversary on May 23rd, an event that gathered members, employees, clients, institutional representatives, and collaborating entities. The occasion highlighted the evolution of an organization founded in 1990 as a cooperative oil mill, which has now become a key agricultural, economic, and social driver in the Alto Palancia region. Over these 35 years, the cooperative has seen significant growth, expanding from 275 founding members to 540 current members, and increasing its turnover from an initial 200,000 euros in 1990 to an projected 18 million euros by 2025. This progress reflects the development of a collective project capable of generating activity, employment, and opportunities in rural areas.
The celebration featured video messages from institutional representatives and collaborators from the agri-food, cooperative, academic, and business sectors. The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, emphasized the Viver Cooperative's role as an example for other rural territories, stating that the entity's work is "a model of excellence and success for what cooperativism represents," based on "bringing people together to achieve better economic, social, and human objectives." The minister highlighted the cooperative's capacity to market agri-food products while contributing to territorial development, noting that its products are "an excellent demonstration of what can be done to help our towns and villages and, undoubtedly, our future."
The Minister of Agriculture, Miguel Barrachina, also extended his congratulations, underscoring the Viver Cooperative's significance as a benchmark for Valencian cooperativism. Other congratulatory messages came from the president of Cooperatives Agro-alimentàries de la Comunitat Valenciana, Cirilo Arnandis; the head of Sustainable Food at the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, Eva Torremocha; UPV professor Dionisio Ortiz; and the Director General of Consumption, Antonio Rodríguez. These messages acknowledged the cooperative's trajectory and its contributions to agriculture, innovation, sustainability, and cooperativism.
Originally focused on olive oil, the Viver Cooperative now operates with six main agricultural production lines: olives, almonds, walnuts, grapes, fruits, and vegetables. Over the past three and a half decades, the entity has modernized its oil mill, established its own winery, developed facilities for nuts, and strengthened its commercial and service network. The Cooperative's president, David Carot, recalled the foundational members' role and the human team that has supported the entity's growth, highlighting its leadership in walnut production in the Valencian Community and the revival of local crops. Carot stressed the importance of looking towards the future by strengthening agricultural profitability, enhancing product and service quality, promoting generational succession, and driving projects to keep the territory vibrant.
The event, inaugurated by managing director Fernando Marco, featured performances by the Coral Vivarium and the Santa Cecilia band of Viver. Humorist Jesús Manzano hosted the celebration, which included speeches from Francisco Estiguín (member number 1), Amparo Ripollés (professional client), and Mayte Oviedo (employee), who shared the history, trust, and human commitment that have accompanied the entity's growth. The Viver Cooperative thus reaffirms its commitment to dignified agriculture, cooperativism, innovation, and rural development.
