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Madrid, Community of

The Community of Madrid (CM) is characterised by a great agricultural tradition, although with a very limited weight in the regional economy and occupying, at the same time, one of the first positions among the food markets and consumption centres of the EU.

This reality means that its agri-food innovation system (AKIS) is particularly dispersed and, on occasions, there are public and private agents that share other economic or knowledge areas.

akis madrid

The image shows the groups of public and private agents of a regional AKIS and their relationships:

  • Agents that generate knowledge.
  • Public Administration Agents.
  • Agents dedicated to training.
  • Agents of the agri-food sector.
  • Other AKIS agents.

AKIS agents and interactions

Agents dedicated to knowledge generation

  • Universities: The CM has the largest university and research population in Spain and one of the largest in Europe. Those centres that have studies that can be more directly related to the agro-industrial sector would be the Rey Juan Carlos University , the Autonomous University of Madrid , the Complutense University of Madrid , the University of Alcalá , UNED , UPM (which has the ETSI Agronómica, Alimentaria y Biosistemas) and the CSIC.
  • Madrid Institute for Rural, Agricultural and Food Research and Development ( IMIDRA ). This is an autonomous body attached to the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and the Interior that carries out R&D and other technological and promotional activities to support agricultural development, associated industry and the sectors of the rural world linked to the natural environment.
  • CM transfer centres related to the agri-food sector. The most closely related transfer centres are the OTRI of INIA , the Autonomous University of Madrid, the Complutense University, the University of Alcalá de Henares, UNED and the Polytechnic University of Madrid. In addition to these, the OTT of the CSIC and the Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer (CINTTEC) of the Rey Juan Carlos University are considered to be of special interest.
  • Higher Council for Scientific Research ( CSIC ) . The CM has 45 centres, although only some of them are related to agriculture.

Public sector agents

  • Department of Environment, Agriculture and Interior : Department of the regional government responsible for responsibilities in agriculture and the agri-food industry, as well as rural development. IMIDRA is part of its structure.
  • Agriculture and livestock delegations : There are 10 offices spread throughout the community. They are structures dependent on the regional government that deserve special mention for their dedication to providing specialized advice and information to the population.

Agents dedicated to training

  • Vocational training. The most notable are the IES Escuela de la Vid, which includes a curriculum for Technician in Agricultural Production, and the IES Centro de Capacitación Agraria de Villaviciosa de Odón.
  • You can consult the training centres and institutes of the Community of Madrid by clicking here .

Agents of the agri-food sector

Other agents

Local Action Groups (LAG). Public-private non-profit associations that provide information and process aid related to the sector, as well as revitalizing the rural world. There are 3 LAGs in the CM, such as:

  • ARACOVE - Aranjuez-Vegas Region Rural Development Association.
  • GALSINMA - Local Action Group Association Sierra Norte de Madrid.
  • SIERRA OESTE - Association for the Comprehensive Development of the Sierra Oeste of Madrid.

Agricultural Chamber of the CM: It is a body for consultation and collaboration with the CM and other Public Administrations and manages pastures and stubble fields and the Anti-Hail Network of the CM, and provides legal and technical advice to farmers, ranchers and owners of rural properties and to local agricultural associations.

Professional associations: Agricultural engineers , Agricultural technicians and Veterinarians .

In addition to these, there are other notable agents due to their connection with advice, such as Livestock Health Defense Groups, Integrated Treatment Groups in Agriculture (ATRIAS) and NGOs and consumer organizations that are getting involved in innovative initiatives in the agricultural sector, contributing their experience and channeling the interests of consumers.

Instruments and tools for the dynamization of the AKIS

REGIONAL STRATEGY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

The Community of Madrid has developed two planning instruments in the field of Science, Technology and Innovation: the VI Regional Plan for Scientific Research and Technological Innovation PRICIT 2022-2025 and the Smart and Sustainable Specialization Strategy (S4) .

Both instruments, which are a continuation of previous plans, respond to two different regulatory frameworks and have different time frames. However, due to the coherence of objectives and the coincidence of their preparation in time, the process followed for the development of both instruments has been parallel, taking into account that Smart Specialisation covers a broad vision of innovation that includes, but is not limited to, technology-driven approaches.

The S4 Strategy promotes, in close collaboration with all the agents of the research and innovation system, the effective transfer of knowledge generated in the field of research to the productive fabric, with the aim of giving a new boost to productivity, competitiveness and job creation. The main instrument of this Strategy is the VI Regional Plan for Scientific Research and Technological Innovation PRICIT 2022-2025 , which specifies and plans the actions necessary to accelerate these processes. Within the VI PRICIT, Biotechnology and Agri-Food is one of the six priority Scientific-Technological Areas, focusing on different fields:

  • Fertilizer production, sustainable food for all.
  • Applied biotechnology.
  • Functional foods and foods for specific applications, such as hospital foods and technologies associated with dysphagia and dysgusia processes.
  • Food for the individual: nutraceutics and nutrigenomics.
  • Production of new catalysts and polymers (bioplastics).

There are also other very relevant tools, such as the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process, or the Community of Madrid programs for the promotion of new industrial activities and support for digital transformation.

CAP 2023-2027

In the field of the common agricultural policy, the Community of Madrid allocates the following budget and actions to three of the interventions most directly linked to AKIS:

  • 7161 (Cooperation of EIP operational groups): €4.82 million.
  • 7201 (Training): €0.22 million. / Free courses and other training activities in the agricultural, agri-food, forestry and rural areas.
  • 7202 (Consulting): €1.17 million.

TOOLS FOR DYNAMIZATION

The Community of Madrid has a technical advisory service for agricultural farms, IMIDRA-Madrid Agroasesor , which currently works in different sectors: livestock, horticulture, woody crops and extensive crops, offering farmers and ranchers the results of the research generated by IMIDRA.

Networks: Social networks and messaging and communication applications have proven to be a very valuable tool for facilitating the flow of knowledge and innovation in the agricultural sector through the creation and development of working groups, meetings, conferences and congresses. In parallel to social networks, there are “micro-networks” made up of groups of farmers and ranchers on a temporary and informal basis. This is an instrument frequently used by advisory services to facilitate peer learning, as is the case in the Agro-Food Professional Network (RPA) of the AKIS Advisors Platform.

Additionally, there are institutional networks, such as GENVCE , specialized in cereals and extensive crops and with national scope, REMEDIA and the Platform for Extensive Livestock Farming and Pastoralism and thematic European networks resulting from European projects such as the NEFERTITI project and others promoted by the EIP-AGRI through the H2020 program.

Operational groups: Within the framework of the Operational Groups (OG) and under the responsibility of the EIP-AGRI, temporary cooperation networks have also been developed with great success in the Autonomous Communities and at the level of trans-autonomous cooperation.

Meeting spaces: A second instrument to activate knowledge flows consists of promoting physical or even virtual meeting spaces, we are referring mainly to meetings, workshops, technical conferences, discussion forums, congresses, depending on the format and scope.

Publications: At this level, a whole range of opportunities and instruments opens up, each with its own dynamics and possibilities. Articles, brochures, posters, monographs, magazines, (etc.) that can be disseminated through digital instruments such as Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Instagram (among others).