The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, highlights the government’s drive for training in the agri-food sector in Galicia with four new innovation projects. These initiatives are the result of a call for aid from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to develop projects for the exchange of knowledge and training, with a total of 5.6 million euros.
Pedro Blanco highlighted the Ministry’s commitment to quality training in its objective of improving the competitiveness of a sector as important for Galicia as agri-food. He also highlighted the fundamental importance of this type of action for Galician rural areas, which dynamizes a productive field of such importance in the small municipalities of the community.
Galicia adds four projects favored by the grants, which include eleven companies or institutions from different fields within the sector. The aid for these Galician entities adds up to about 750,000 euros. The range of initiatives ranges from that of the Galicia Sudoeste Eurural Development Association GDR 14, which promotes a knowledge-sharing action for the development of promotion models for adherence to designations of origin and protected geographical indications in rural areas of strategic interest (with a subsidy of 143,993.71 euros); to that of Growing Smart Solutions, S.L., which promotes innovation and knowledge transfer in sustainability for the dairy farming sector (326,777.11 €), or that of Agri-UPA Unions, promoting environmental regeneration, the generational challenge (26,1650 €).
The Ministry especially highlighted that of the Juana de Vega Foundation, as it includes the celebration of 12 technical seminars and workshops to promote re-xenerative and sustainable agriculture in different agricultural production sectors (dairy, meat, horticulture, fruit and wine farming). For the development of these activities, the grant awarded is 104,823.69 euros.
New support for innovation projects
In parallel, Pedro Blanco encouraged Galician companies and institutions linked to the agricultural and livestock sector to take an interest and request the new aid for innovation projects that the Ministry has just announced, endowed with 46.5 million euros. This is the call with the largest budget allocation in history in this field of support, which is framed in the rural development pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The Ministry states that the deadline for submission of applications will be open until 2 p.m. on June 4. The maximum aid per beneficiary group is set at €600,000 and projects can be implemented until 1 May 2029. The project is usually designed by dividing the eligible period into two: one from its inception until May 1, 2027 and another from that moment until May 1, 2029.
Purpose of supports
The aid is included in the National Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and is financed by 43% by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the remaining 57% by the common budgets of the Ministry. The objective is to promote the transfer of knowledge through exchanges in an autonomous and state key, such as events, fairs, informative activities or open days, oriented all these events or proposals to the adoption of digital technologies or other topics. All are focused on the acquisition of digital skills for the agri-food sector and will be accessible free of charge to those interested.
The call was aimed at entities with the capacity to facilitate the exchange of knowledge on issues considered priority in this area for the Government, both digital and critical structural challenges for the development of rural areas. The aim of these grants is to strengthen the Knowledge and Innovation System in Agriculture (SCIA, better known by its acronym in English as AKIS) at the national level and promote learning among actors from different territories. The beneficiaries will be able to implement this aid from the moment they applied for it until June 2026.