Operational Groups: Agri-food innovation in the fight against African Swine Fever

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has fostered numerous Operational Innovation Groups in recent years, working to improve animal health and welfare in the livestock sector. These initiatives, funded by European funds and developed collaboratively by farmers, researchers, government agencies, and businesses, share a common goal: to translate science and technology into practical solutions to the sector's major health challenges .

Among the most relevant areas of action are projects dedicated to preventing and controlling animal diseases , including those that pose a high risk to livestock production and public health. In this context, African Swine Fever (ASF) is a priority due to its ability to spread and the potential economic impact on the Spanish pig population.

Recent health events have brought the importance of these projects to the forefront. In late November 2025, an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) was confirmed in two wild boars found dead in Bellaterra (Barcelona), representing the first confirmed case in Spain since 1994 .

This real-world context clearly underlines the relevance and strategic value of the work carried out by the Operational Groups, which can make a significant contribution to the national strategy to contain ASF, strengthen biosecurity, improve surveillance on farms and in wild populations, and reduce the risk of new outbreaks.

Operational Groups: Agri-food innovation in the fight against African Swine Fever

Two of the most outstanding projects promoted with European funding in this area are PREVPA and VIGIASAN , both of a supra-regional nature and with a clear vocation for knowledge transfer to the territory.

PREVPA Working Group

“Overabundance: Innovation in biosecurity and wild boar control to prevent African Swine Fever”
(Implementation 2020-2023 | Budget €363,424.56)

• This operational group has developed innovative tools to prepare the pig farming and hunting sectors for African Swine Fever . Among its achievements are a wild boar population monitoring system, biosecurity protocols for pig farms, and a ten-point plan of action adapted to the specific region. It also promoted training and dissemination through online courses, workshops, and informational resources.

VIGIASAN Operational Group

“Use of technologies to assess the health, welfare and productivity status of livestock”
(Implementation 2019-2021 | Budget €480,156.42)

• This project focused on the use of artificial intelligence and signal processing to monitor the behavior and movement patterns of pigs and cattle.
  Thanks to the installation of technological infrastructure on farms , algorithms were developed that can detect in real time changes that could indicate the onset of a disease or stressful situation.
  VIGIASAN demonstrates how digitization and data analysis can become key tools for the early detection of pathologies and the improvement of animal welfare, allowing for a faster fight against outbreaks and epidemics.

Digital resources at the service of animal health

In addition to innovation projects, the AKIS Advisors Platform includes in its Digital Tools section a series of technological solutions that facilitate health management and traceability on livestock farms. For example:

• ISAGRI Porc Mobile : a mobile app that allows farmers to record events on the farm in real time and access essential herd data.
• ECOGAN (MAPA) : official system of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that helps to calculate livestock emissions and register the Best Available Techniques (BATs).
• Livestock Manager : application for tracking the location, growth and health of animals.
• RASVE App : a tool aimed at veterinary services to communicate incidents and manage health alerts in real time.

Knowledge and prevention: resources in the AKIS Media Library

The AKIS Advisors Platform Media Library provides advisors, veterinarians, and livestock farmers with training and informational materials on the prevention and management of African Swine Fever , including:

• Practical manual of operations in the fight against ASF.
• Prevention measures in small and self-consumption farms.
• Fact sheets on the epidemiological situation of ASF and classical swine fever.
• Videos and informational materials from the PREVPA Operational Group.

These resources allow the sector to strengthen its capabilities against animal diseases and improve the coordinated response in the event of a health alert.

AKIS Advisors Platform: innovation, advice and cooperation

The AKIS Advisors Platform is an official initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that aims to promote innovation in the agri-food sector , with a special focus on agri-food advisory work as an engine for knowledge transfer.

Its role as a meeting and collaboration space between advisors, researchers, farmers and administrations makes it the national reference point where the most information on the activity of the Operational Groups and the innovative projects financed by the European Union is gathered.

Experience shows that scientific knowledge and technological innovation can strengthen animal health and the safety of the sector, helping to anticipate health crises and ensuring a more sustainable, competitive and resilient livestock model.

Conclusion: Innovation, prevention and resilience in livestock farming

The reappearance of African swine fever (ASF) in Spain serves as a reminder that animal health is an ongoing challenge. But it also highlights the invaluable effort made over the years by researchers, farmers, and government agencies to develop knowledge, technologies, and procedures capable of anticipating and responding to health crises.

Thanks to initiatives like PREVPA and VIGIASAN, the livestock sector now has real tools, adapted to the local area and ready to be deployed when needed . This approach of innovation, prevention, and advice is essential to guarantee animal health, the stability of the sector—and food safety—in a time of uncertainty.