Luis Planas: Spain has the agricultural talent to lead agri-food innovation

During his visit yesterday to the John Deere innovation center in Parla, Madrid, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas , highlighted "Spain's agricultural talent and capacity to position itself at the forefront of agri-food innovation" and become an international benchmark in agricultural technology.

During the event held to commemorate the center's third anniversary, the minister emphasized that digitalization and innovation are essential tools for ensuring profitability, sustainability, and adaptation to climate change . "Precision agriculture is rapidly expanding," he stated, as it allows for the optimization of resource use on farms.

Planas recalled that the Government has allocated €230 million from the Recovery Plan to finance more than 6,700 precision agriculture projects, which have attracted equivalent private investment. He also highlighted the three pillars of support for modernization: investment, promoting innovative projects and startups, and strengthening training and advisory services.

The minister also praised the Machinery Renewal Plan , which reached its highest allocation of €9.55 million in 2024 and 2025, including precision technologies for the first time. He also highlighted support for innovation through €108 million for supra-regional operational groups and the launch of the European AgriFoodTEF project, aimed at testing artificial intelligence and robotics solutions in agriculture.

Finally, Planas highlighted public-private collaboration as key to the transformation of the sector and congratulated John Deere, the Parla City Council, the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the companies involved for making the center a model of cooperation and knowledge transfer .