AGROBRIDGES KICKS OFF, A NEW EU PROJECT TO IMPROVE FARMERS' POSITIONING IN THE AGRI-FOOD CHAIN
Madrid, January 19, 2021 - SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS, Technological Corporation of Andalusia (CTA in its Spanish acronym) and Impact Hub Madrid are participating in agroBRIDGES, an EU-funded project under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, focused on building bridges between consumers and producers by supporting short food supply chains (SFSCs) through the development of a systemic, holistic, multi-actor approach-based toolbox. The agroBRIDGES toolbox will gather a combination of communication materials, training programmes, events, and Information Technology (IT) tools, positioning itself as the ultimate instrument that will provide practical support to producers, consumers, and distributors, improving farmers' position in the value chain. To this end, the project will mobilise local farmers through SFSCs, focussing on decreasing intermediaries and their margin. SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS, CTA, and Impact Hub Madrid will work for 36 months in close collaboration with another twelve partners from eleven countries to make an ambitious contribution to the Common Agricultural Policy, unlocking the full potential of Europe's inner wealth by placing producers as a cornerstone for boosting the European agri-food sector. Both regional and international approaches will be considered along the project, where 12 beacon regions will be involved in the creation of this multi-actor framework, directly engaging approximately 400 people in information collection, knowledge exchange, co-creation, co-development, and validation of project outputs. SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS, as expert in market uptake, will lead the exploitation of the project results, and will produce some of the communication materials for the agroBRIDGES toolbox, including the elaboration of learning materials for training programmes. "We are glad to participate in a new project focused on the agri-food sector," states Jesús Serrano, Deputy General Manager of SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS. "This is a key sector for the sustainable development of the European economy, in which we have been gaining expertise thanks to other projects related to the bioeconomy, such as ICT-BIOCHAIN, UrBIOfuture, and BIOSWITCH, where we also collaborate with CTA." From its side, CTA coordinates the work package dedicated to maximising and replicating project results in Europe. It will also lead knowledge transfer actions, including the creation of a training programme for cluster managers, innovation agents and public administration. "With the participation in the agroBRIDGES project, CTA continues to support the deployment of the bioeconomy in Spain, particularly in Andalusia, as one of the sectors with the most potential to generate wealth and employment in the region," says Nathalie Chavrier, Technical Manager of the Agri-Food Sector in CTA. As the third Spanish consortium member, Impact Hub Madrid contributes to the development of economic, social, and environmental sustainability measurement systems through social impact assessment. Moreover, Impact Hub Madrid will support the project in the dissemination of surveys, as well as in the testing of the agroBRIDGES Toolbox in Europe thanks to its extensive network: IH Network and EU Cluster. With the latter, Impact Hub Madrid will collaborate in the dissemination of the project results and in its visibility. "For Impact Hub Madrid, the sector of sustainable food production is a priority at the moment, and the participation in the agroBRIDGES project represents the support and promotion of sustainable systems that guarantee food security and nutrition for all people. We want to contribute with our experience as an international network where different projects have already been carried out in this area," says Leyre Romero, Head of Sustainability projects at Impact Hub Madrid.
Keywords
value, chain, farmers, toolbox, training, capacity, building, agrifood, agriculture, supply