Advice, training, and assistance are the pillars for promoting generational change in Spanish agriculture.

During the extraordinary Sectoral Conference on generational renewal held in Pamplona yesterday, July 4, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas , emphasized that specific advice for young people before, during, and after the establishment process and in innovation is a key element, among others, to making the sector attractive and profitable in order to promote generational renewal in the Spanish countryside . He also believes that sufficiently early publication of the aid schedules would provide security for young people and highlight the crucial role of cooperatives in promoting this renewal.

This is a complex issue, dependent on multiple factors that require work, such as profitability expectations, access to farms and financing, training , bureaucracy, the regulatory framework, and living conditions in rural areas.

Agri-food knowledge transfer networks

The Conference also emphasized the enormous value of exchanging good practices between administrations and the sector , as well as peer learning , and called for further emphasis on this matter.

As you may recall, there are already initiatives in this regard, encompassed within the work MAPA is carrying out to promote the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (SCIA) , or AKIS . SCIA-AKIS is the combined organization and flow of knowledge among people, organizations, and institutions that use and generate knowledge for use in agriculture and related fields.

The minister, who has shown his utmost respect for regional initiatives, as this matter falls within his jurisdiction, has emphasized the importance of everyone "collaborating, sharing success stories" to contribute not only to the incorporation, but also to the retention of young people and women in agricultural activity.

A crucial aspect, he insisted, is training , to improve professional skills and knowledge sharing. Young people, he insisted, must receive ongoing mentoring.

Generational change in the countryside

This Sectoral Conference on Generational Change also drew on the conclusions of the High-Level Forum on Generational Change, held the day before, also in Pamplona, with the organization and participation of MAPA.

Among these conclusions, the need for agricultural testing spaces is also cited.

Public initiatives to promote generational renewal in the Spanish countryside

Luis Planas mentioned some of the ministry's initiatives that contribute to strengthening SCIA-AKIS, such as the Cultiva program, training grants, and the creation of the La Vega Innova technology innovation center. These initiatives serve as pillars for further progress in the sector's future training strategy and in all regional initiatives.

In this regard, it is worth mentioning the AKIS Advisors Platform, which offers relevant information on AKIS at the national level, includes search engines for industry agents, and offers a collaborative environment with the network of professionals in the agricultural and agri-food sectors.    

AKIS Advisors Platform: training, financing, and innovation in a single resource for young farmers

The AKIS Advisors Platform was created as a digital resource for the AKIS Coordination Body in Spain, which established its structure and functions in Royal Decree 116/2024, of 30 January. This coordination body is co-chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, with the aim of promoting the maximum possible coordination and synergy between agricultural policy and science, technology and innovation policy, so that scientific research is put at the service of sectoral needs .

It is a multi-level body with broad representation that includes not only the competent Public Administrations in the field, both regional and central, but also the agri-food sector in its broadest sense (value chain, consumer, service companies, official associations, advisory bodies, technological platforms, etc.). The Coordinating Body is therefore diverse, and it recently held the first meeting of the Agri-Food Advisory Working Group (WG) of the SCIA Coordinating Body. This marks the launch of the first of the three working groups of the SCIA Coordinating Body (AKIS). The other two WGs, Agri-Food Training and Agri-Food R&D&I Coordination, are scheduled to begin next September.