UPM Pulp Matters 2024

THE PERSONAL TOUCH

FOREST OWNERSHIP IS AN INVESTMENT FOR THE FUTURE

Through almost 15 years of collaboration with UPM, María Marta Albicette and Carlos Viola have turned family land into a profitable plantation forest.

TEXT: ANNA VENEJÄRVI PHOTOS: MARIA MARTA ALBICETTE

M aria Marta Albicette and Carlos Viola , are agricultural engineers and landowners in the Río Negro department of Uruguay. The couple lives in the town of Young but works about 80 kilometres away on an agricultural property in Paso de los Mellizos. Albicette and Viola own 1,065 hectares of land, most of which they inherited from their grandparents. The family has dedicated 500 hectares to agriculture, 500 hectares to cattle – and 65 hectares to forestry. Around 14 years ago the couple planted their first forest in partnership with UPM. In addition the couple leases 600 hectares of neighbouring forested fields from UPM. In this way the family uses a total of 1,100 hectares for livestock farming, dedicated to 1,000 steers of breeds intended for meat production.

T he Viola-Albicette family had a piece of land suitable for planting a forest, but no capital for the project or prior knowledge of forestry. However, cooperation with UPM’s forestry experts made it all project possible. Eucalyptus trees of the dunnii and grandis varieties are now growing in their forest. The rotation period of these trees in Uruguay is 10-12 years. “We signed a cooperation agreement with UPM in 2010 and in 2022 we harvested our first tree crop. So the next harvest will be in about 10 years’ time,” Viola says. The couple is one of more than 900 local Uruguayan wood producers participating in UPM’s Fomento Programme launched in 2006. The goal of the programme is to cover a large part of the wood required by the Fray Bentos and Paso de los Toros pulp mills with timber supplied by local producers associated with UPM.

María Marta Albicette and Carlos Viola recently visited the Paso de los Toros pulp mill, located around 160 kilometres from their agricultural property in Paso de los Mellizos.

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PULP MATTERS 2024