This new strategic framework, integrating the AgRI 2040 and Food 2040 frameworks, will guide research, innovation, and the adoption of solutions across the entire agri-food sector. The initiative places greater emphasis on the needs of end-users, researchers, and businesses, promoting the co-creation and joint testing of solutions in real-life environments to ensure food security and facilitate the market entry of innovations.
The strategy seeks to boost competitiveness throughout the value chain, supporting innovation from research to market. Initiatives will be promoted to validate traditional knowledge and solutions driven by sector professionals, involving farmers in testing innovations across different regions. This approach contributes to the objectives of the Vision for Agriculture and Food, the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, and the European Life Sciences Strategy.
From ARA, the Association for Rural Development of Andalusia, the document is positively assessed. It is highlighted that the LEADER methodology, along with initiatives such as Smart Villages and Living Labs, is positioned as an indispensable vehicle for validating and scaling solutions on the ground. The generation of economic opportunities that retain and attract young people and entrepreneurs to villages through the bioeconomy and digitalization is prioritized.
Carlos Romero, manager of the GDR Litoral de la Janda y de Los Alcornocales, reflects on the role of Rural Development Groups (GDRs). He proposes that they should not only be managers of aid but should become permanent territorial infrastructures for innovation, cooperation, and the transformation of rural areas. He emphasizes the need to recognize the funding of the technical structures of the Local Action Groups (GALs) as an investment in territorial capacity for local development.
