TUdi at UPA’s Regional Stakeholder Days: Fostering Innovation, Sustainability, and Digitalisation in Agriculture

UPA ("Unión de Pequeños Agricultores" or "Union of Small Farmers") is an organisation, with over 80,000 members across Spain, that represents and defends the interests of agriculture and livestock professionals across the country. UPA is equally part of the Economic and Social Council (CES), and a member of the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisation of the European Union (COPA), thus acting on a national and international level. It is also the first Spanish agricultural organisation to be a member of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO). 

On 1-2 October 2024, UPA brought together young farmers from across Spain to discuss the challenges faced by those entering the world of farming. Key topics included digitalisation, innovation, and sustainability. The event, which took place in Seville, was organised as a way to provide support, training, and information by hosting both theoretical and practical sessions. 

The first day of the event was opened by Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, the Minister of Agriculture of Andalusia; Begoña García, the Secretary of State for Agriculture and Food from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food; Marcos Alarcón, Deputy Secretary-General of ‘Organisation, Training, and Programs’ at UPA; and Cristóbal Cano, Secretary-General of UPA Andalusia.

Following the opening of the event two debate panels were held, in which young farmers and ranchers from different autonomous communities and sectors participated. The first panel focused on the support mechanisms provided by the European Union to encourage young people to enter the agricultural sector, and the second discussed research, innovation, and development in the agricultural sector while analysing the potential of NextGeneration funds and digitalisation. A recording of the day can be found online.

On the second day of the event, the practical session took place. It consisted of a field visit at the  'Las Cárdenas' estate in Carmona, the first Spanish farm to join Bayer's international ForwardFarming program, and welcomed around 200 participants. 

TUdi coordinator José A. Gómez and TUdi partner Gema Guzmán attended, presenting a talk on “Dialogues on Research, Innovation, and Development in the Agricultural Sector, Next Generation Funds, and Digitalisation".