Luis Planas places innovation and digitalization at the heart of Spanish agri-food leadership

• The minister defends the government's commitment to technological modernization, which is key to strengthening the sector's competitiveness and sustainability in a complex international context.
• It emphasizes that Spain is an agri-food powerhouse and that the National Food Strategy and the International Gastronomy Plan consolidate a roadmap to guarantee its leadership.
• Planas highlights the “collective intelligence exercise” of the change leaders, people committed to a more sustainable, healthy and competitive model

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas , stated yesterday, November 24th, that innovation and digitalization are the key drivers of transformation for the Spanish agri-food system and the best guarantee for strengthening its profitability and sustainability. “ Innovation, entrepreneurship, and digital applications are the present and the future for a more resilient, competitive, healthy, and prepared food system,” the minister said.

Planas participated in the closing ceremony of the Food Changemakers Awards, organized by the KM ZERO Think Tank, where he argued that technological modernization of the sector is not an option, but a strategic necessity in an international context marked by geopolitical tensions, climate challenges, and market shifts. He therefore emphasized the importance of the collective intelligence exercised by committed individuals from the institutional, business, production, and technological spheres in driving structural changes to the food model.

He explained that the ministry is strongly committed to innovative entrepreneurship through participatory loans to technology-based agri-food companies, acceleration programs, and mentoring for startups. In this regard, he mentioned the program of La Vega Innova , through which the ministry supports emerging agri-food innovation initiatives.

According to Planas, investing in innovation is essential in a sector that is one of the main pillars of the Spanish economy and rural development. In 2025, the agri-food sector reached a production value of over €75.6 billion and agricultural income of over €41.2 billion. It employs more than 1.3 million people—of whom more than 760,000 work in the primary sector—and comprises more than 28,000 food industries—including almost 3,200 cooperatives—spread throughout the country.

This is complemented by a strong international position. Spain is the fourth largest agri-food exporter in the European Union and the seventh largest in the world, with a presence in 193 countries.

The minister also recalled that, to guarantee food security and the competitiveness of the sector in the medium and long term, the Government has promoted the National Food Strategy and, along the same lines, the International Plan for Spanish Gastronomy has recently been presented.

KM ZERO and the value of the innovative ecosystem

In this context, the minister highlighted the work of the ecosystem fostered by KM ZERO, which brings together companies, institutions, investors, and technology experts to anticipate risks and design innovative solutions for the future of food. “This transformation doesn't happen spontaneously. It needs change leaders committed to a more sustainable, healthy, and competitive model,” he stated.

Planas presented the Future of Agriculture award to engineer Mercedes Iborra, for her promotion of precision agriculture through her company VisualNACert, which specializes in decision-making based on geolocated data.

He also congratulated the other award winners, Rodrigo de la Calle, for his contribution to sustainability through gastrobotany, and Rodrigo García, for the development of plant-based and biodegradable alternatives to plastic in the food sector.