Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 7:40 p.m.
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The Deputy Minister for Common Agricultural Policy and Rural Development, Jorge Llorente, conveyed to the farmers the support and commitment of the Regional Government to the cereal sector, since it is one of the products “that provides the most added value to the agricultural sector.” “More than 50% of the surface area of Castilla y León is dedicated to the cultivation of cereals and it is essential for food security. In addition, we have a powerful and cutting-edge industry linked to this product,” Llorente stressed during the closing of the XI Congress ‘The Future of Cereal’ organized by Tierras Agricultura together with Agropal. “The Government of Alfonso Fernández Mañueco is going to support them in income with a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that adapts to reality. We are going to continue to demand the necessary changes so that certain conditions that do not adapt to reality are removed,” stressed the Deputy Minister.
Llorente was grateful that cereals were the focus of this congress held at the Hotel Europa Centro in Magaz de Pisuerga (Palencia) as it is “a strategic crop, in high demand and with no substitute”. In this regard, he insisted on the need to support competitiveness, modernisation, research and training of farmers. “We must take into account the effort they make every day to get their farms ahead and even more so taking into account the low margins they have. The value chain must not harm them and the distribution of benefits must be equitable”, Llorente pointed out while highlighting the achievements made in order to guarantee a real generational change in the region’s countryside. “We have processed more than 1,460 applications from young people who wanted to join the sector with an amount greater than 100 million euros and of which 20 percent were women. “I think these figures demonstrate the regional government’s support for the future of the cereal sector and we will soon launch actions to strengthen it, such as a commitment to digitalisation or greater support for cooperatives,” announced Llorente, who believes that cereals can play a key role in the fight against depopulation in rural areas.
This was expressed during the eleventh edition of this congress, which highlighted the need to move towards transformation and adapt production to consumer needs. An event in which attendees were able to learn about the latest advances in fertilisation, plant health, seeds, alternative crops, genetic editing and updated data on the evolution of the raw materials market.
The day served to analyse the key points of the new 2024-2025 campaign thanks to the participation of companies and experts with proven experience in the sector. The first to speak was José Carlos García Bravo de Soto, director of Agricultural Business at Banco Sabadell, to talk about sustainability, efficiency and financing in the Castilla y León area. The opening presentation focused on the new challenges of the sector in the future CAP and was given by Ramón Armengol of Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de España. “The future lies in being united, working together, advancing in the transformation and adapting our productions to the needs of consumers,” said César Reales, general director of Agropal during the opening of the meeting.
A message that was also stressed by the President of the Provincial Council, Ángeles Armisén. “Organising this congress means betting on a strategic sector and continuing to invest in its innovation. The future of the countryside is promising, although it is true that farmers are used to dealing with uncertainty, but training, becoming professional and relying on the best makes these decisions always more correct,” she said.
The keys to improving the efficiency of cereal fertilization were also analyzed, and the future of fertilization in cereal crops was studied. This congress will also focus on carbon agriculture as a new opportunity for cereal cultivation and Agropal Certified seed will be valued as “the best ally for the farmer.”
In the final stretch of the meeting, the challenges that the agricultural and livestock sector must face in terms of the genetic improvement of oats were put on the table, as it is a cereal with high added value for agriculture and food, and the versatility of the legume as a profitable solution in the rotation will be defended.
Bayer Cropscience’s Operational Marketing Coordinator, Nacho Tobalina, advocated innovation as the key to protecting cereal crops, while the commercial delegate at Corteva Agriscience, César Preciado, gave a talk on ‘BlueN’, an essential tool for securing crops.
New technologies marked the final stretch of the congress, as genetic editing and the future of cereals, the use of agricultural drones to optimize cultivation, and market prospects for 2025 were analyzed.
The XI Congress ‘The Future of Cereal’, organised by Tierras Agricultura together with Agropal, has concluded that it is necessary to move towards transformation and adapt production to the needs of the consumer. The event was held in Palencia, where those attending the meeting at the Hotel Europa Centro in Magaz de Pisuerga learned about the latest advances in fertilisation, plant health, seeds, alternative crops, genetic editing and updated data on the evolution of the raw materials market.
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