Agroaldea
Under the motto 'Reasons for the Future', the Cupalma cooperatives from La Palma and Gran Tarajal from Fuerteventura also attended..
The president of Agri-Food Cooperatives, Angel Villafranca, opted to “continue working for the dreams of the million Spanish cooperative members”.
More than a thousand cooperative members from all over Spain, among which was a representation of the CUPALMA cooperatives, GRAN TARAJAL and COAGRISAN, participated in the VII Congress of Agro-food Cooperatives of Spain, held in Valencia and which was attended by the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and the Minister of Agriculture of Spain, among others.
Under the motto “Reasons for the Future”, The VII Congress analyzed the future of the sector and, concretely, How cooperatives should deal with it.
The three main thematic axes revolved around the Integration of cooperatives, Innovation and Internationalization, that were addressed in depth in several round tables, presentations and workshops.
When they celebrate 25 years of the founding of Agri-Food Cooperatives of Spain, Its president Angel Villafranca highlighted the strength of the Spanish cooperative network as a driver of our economy, of the rural environment and generator of employment.
The Spanish agri-food cooperative sector brings together more than 3.800 companies formed by more than a million producer partners, with a turnover of more than 25.000 million euros, the 60% of the value of Spanish Agricultural Production and the 30% of the value of the Gross Production of the food industry. In the Canary Islands, The number of cooperatives has been reduced to a dozen in recent years.
The president of COAGRISAN and president of the Union of Agrarian Cooperatives of the Canary Islands, Juan José de el Pino, highlighted the importance of the event for what it means for the development of the work of cooperatives.
Del Pino pointed out that there are still many challenges to be achieved in the Canary Islands, but innovation and internationalization are two fundamental keys to success that cannot be ignored. And I know that I attest as far as COAGRISAN is concerned., pointed out del Pino.
On the other hand, the new Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan, empatizó con parte del auditorio cuando dijo “me dirijo a ustedes como un hombre nacido y criado en una granja familiar del sur de Irlanda“.
El Comisario describió los instrumentos que establece la nueva PAC, tanto en el marco de la Organización Común de Mercado (COM) única como en los programas de Desarrollo Rural, para fomentar la figura de las Organizaciones de Productores (OPs), en cuya creación las cooperativas son estructuras clave y deben jugar un papel primordial.
A pesar de la crisis económica, las cooperativas agroalimentarias españolas han mantenido durante estos últimos años, una posición estable y sólida, incrementando su facturación un 23% from 2007 and a 8% el número de empleos directos, hasta alcanzar un total de 100.000 people, thus demonstrating that they withstand adverse circumstances better than other types of business formulas.