Archives: Agenda

• Raúl Compés, Director of CIHEAM Zaragoza, stresses the Institute’s long commitment to the olive sector at the International Olive Council’s headquarters in Madrid (Spain)

• CIHEAM Zaragoza’s training activities in olive growing and oil technology contribute to build capacities and foster cooperation in the Mediterranean region

CIHEAM took part as an observer in the 118th session of the IOC Council of Members held on 23 November 2023 at the organisation’s headquarters in Madrid (Spain).

At the gathering, Compés recalled CIHEAM’s Zaragoza long standing commitment to the olive sector and the strategic alliance between CIHEAM and the IOC. “In addition to observers, we have a close and strategic relationship with the International Olive Council“, stated. “CIHEAM Zaragoza International Master’s Programme in olive growing and oil technology is training some of the world’s top technicians“, added about the master jointly organised by CIHEAM Zaragoza, the IOC and other Spanish institutions (Universidad de Córdoba, Junta de Andalucía, CSIC and Fundación de Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero).

As he shared with the heads of delegation and high-ranking officials of the IOC’s Council of Members, this Master’s Programme and other IOC-joint activities addressed to professionals from the olive sector make a substantial contribution to CIHEAM Zaragoza’s mission of building capacities and foster cooperation in the Mediterranean region.

This training alliance between CIHEAM Zaragoza and the IOC dates back to 1995 when the International Master’s Programme in olive growing and oil technology was launched in the University of Córdoba. Since then, other training activities have followed both in Spain (advanced courses on olive oil marketing strategies; integrated production of olive crops; monitoring and surveillance of olive pathogens; olive growing and climate change; efficient water use in olive groves in a context of climate change) as well as in Tunisia (advanced course on olive orchard management in rainfed conditions) or Morocco (advanced course on olive oil marketing strategies).

Because of its strategic value for the economy of all Mediterranean countries, the olive plays a central role in many of our training and research activities.

Raúl Compés, Director of CIHEAM Zaragoza

A fundamental pillar of the Spanish agri-food system

The olive oil sector is a fundamental pillar of the Spanish agri-food system:

✔️ Spain is the world’s leading producer of olive oil, accounting for 70% of EU production and 45% of world production (MAPA).

✔️ Spain is the world’s leading exporter of olive oil with more than 150 destination countries (MAPA).

✔️ Spanish exports of olive oil reached 1 068 029 tonnes in the 2021/2022 crop year for an estimated value of €3.905 billion, placing it in first place in the UE followed by Italy, with 357 832 tonnes and €1.711 billion; Portugal, with 253 735 tonnes and €893.7 million; and Greece, with 137 180 tonnes and €571.9 million (IOC).

✔️ More than 350,000 farmers are dedicated to olive growing in Spain and generates more than 32 million daily wages per season (MAPA).

✔️ Olive groves cover 2.75 million hectares in Spain (MAPA).

• Sonya Sammut, member of CIHEAM’s Advisory Board and Director for Food Systems at the Ministry of Malta, coordinates a visit to establish synergies and contacts in the agrifood sector
• CIHEAM Zaragoza’s director, Raúl Compés, welcomed the delegation that visited local businesses, as well as laboratories and research centres from the Government of Aragon

Representatives of Malta’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights travelled to Aragon on 21 and 22 November 2023 on a visit organised by CIHEAM Zaragoza to establish synergies and contacts in the scope of food and agriculture. They discovered the scientific and technological offer in Aragon and heard about public policies and success stories in the livestock and animla production sector.

The Maltese delegation was made up of three senior officers from the Ministry: Sonya Sammut, Director for Food Systems, National Ambassador for Organic and Sustainable Food, and member of CIHEAM’s Advisory Board; Marco Dimech, Director of Agriculture; and Stefan Cachia, Director General for the Public Abattoir.

The Maltese delegates began their visit tour with a visit to CIHEAM’s headquarters in Spain and heard about the Institute’s projects and training programmes, with a view to exploring opportunities for collaboration. They also visited the facilities of the Agri-food Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA) and held a meeting with researchers of the Animal Science Department. Enrique Novales, an official from the Government of Aragon, presented the main indicators of the livestock sector in Aragon and accompanied the delegates on their visits to businesses in the region.

The agenda also included a visit to the Grupo Pastores where Oviaragón’s technical team explained the successful cooperative business project in the sheep sector, as well as their Ternasco lamb meat promotion, marketing and sales efforts.

The next day the Maltese delegation had the opportunity to visit the Ars Alendi sow farm where the technical team explained how the business had developed and its links to the cooperatives at San Mateo de Gállego and Almudévar. They described the design of the farm and its business goals and operations and discussed the particularities of the integrated business model in the Spanish pig production sector.

The tour continued at the facilities of one of the largest meat production groups in Spain and biggest exporters of pig meat in Europe Grupo Jorge, who shared insights about their business operations. The Delegation heard about the Group’s meat and livestock branch that integrates the entire pig farming production cycle, from feed manufacturing to the distribution and sale of pork, cured meat, offal and by-products. They also discussed other facets of the cycle, including rearing, transport, slaughter and jointing. The visit concluded with a tour of the abattoir and jointing plant to see their working operations, control measures and biosecurity protocols.

Raúl Compés, director of CIHEAM Zaragoza commented on the success of the visit. “This has been a magnificent opportunity to consolidate and strengthen institutional relations, and highlight the strength and competitivity of the agrifood sector in Aragon”.

• CIHEAM Zaragoza, involved in communication, dissemination and training activities within the NewTechAqua consortium, joined the event held in Brussels.

• Legislative barriers, circularity, fish feed, organic aquaculture, new health tools, diversification and new fish products are some of the topics discussed in high level policy roundtables.

NewTechAqua partners.

The NewTechAqua project has organised its final conference on tools and strategies for a sustainable, resilient and innovative European aquaculture on 15th November in Brussels, and online. CIHEAM Zaragoza, one of the partners within the NewTechAqua consortium, joined the event that gathered over 90 stakeholders -65 attendees onsite and 25 online- to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the future of the European aquaculture.

Bernardo Basurco, the administrator of the area of Fisheries and Aquaculture of CIHEAM Zaragoza who attended NewTechAqua final conference, explains that “to ensure a sustainable aquaculture in Europe the sector needs to incorporate new production and management technologies and innovations. In this sense, higher education and continuous professional training become a necessity”.

At the event, NewTechAqua presented 14 innovations to improve the resilience of the sector and provided policy recommendations that contribute to enhancing EU regulations. Legislative barriers, circularity, fish feed, organic aquaculture, new health tools, diversification and new fish products were some of the topics discussed in high level policy roundtables, including the participation of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), and the European Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform (EATiP).

Striving for a sustainable EU aquaculture

In the last 4 years, the NewTechAqua partners have identified, tested, and evaluated the effectiveness of new tools that improve the production and, at the same time, the sustainability of the sector. 14 innovations were presented covering several species, such as seabream, seabass, greater amberjack, grey mullet, meagre, salmon, mussel, oyster and microalgae.

The use of novel ingredients for aquafeeds; the valorisation of fish co-products into innovative ingredients; and new approaches for enhancing reproduction and maturation; are some examples of the innovations presented. Some of the achievements are already on the market and are being used on a commercial scale. Others are in an early development stage and will serve to further advance in future projects.

NewTechAqua awards Roll’Oyster, by Seaducer

Bringing new technologies into the aquaculture sector offers a range of benefits that are transforming the industry and driving its growth. NewTechAqua launched an Award Challenge to look for disruptive solutions that bring economic, environmental, and social advantages. 47 proposals were submitted from all around the world and evaluated by NewTechAqua Committee of Experts, coordinated by the Spanish Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA).

NewTechAqua Award finalists and evaluators.

During its final conference, NewTechAqua announced the highest-scoring project, Roll’Oyster by Seaducer (France), as the winner. The Roll’Oyster is a cutting-edge technology to produce outstanding oysters all year around by reducing tiresome tasks and optimising production costs.

Check here the other finalists:

• Predictive analytics for water quality by BiOceanOr
• Cloud-based platform for precision fish farming by FindIT
• Tools to prevent loss of genetic diversity and optimise animal AI, by Noah Genetics
• MortCam: An AI-powered tool for fish mortality monitoring and alerting, by The Conservation Fund

NewTechAqua final conference was organised by Greenovate! Europe, in collaboration with the University of Bologna and the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP).

About the role of CIHEAM Zaragoza in the project

NewTechAqua is a 4-year-research project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme. NewTechAqua’s main goal is to expand and diversify European aquaculture production of finfish, molluscs and microalgae by developing and validating technologically advanced, resilient and sustainable applications.

The NewTechAqua consortium is made up of 26 partners from 9 countries. 11 partners are universities and R&D institutions, 12 are private companies and three are international organisations specialised in industrial governance, innovation and knowledge transfer.

CIHEAM, through its Institutes in Bari (Italy) and Zaragoza (Spain), has the lead on the communication, dissemination and training activities (work package 8), in interaction with most relevant stakeholders of the European and non-European Aquaculture actors. The project’s coordinator is the University of Bologna.

Zaragoza, 14 November 2023.- Experts and practitioners gathered for an advanced course at CIHEAM Zaragoza to explore the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) interdependency in Mediterranean irrigated agriculture and its implications for food security and nature preservation.

The course took place from 6 to 11 November 2023 and was jointly organised by CIHEAM Zaragoza, the PRIMA Foundation, and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

“The course was designed for participants from universities, research centres, ministries, and the private sector. It actively shared invaluable experiences and knowledge derived from PRIMA-funded projects, embodying a true research-based training approach”, highlighted Ali Rhouma, PRIMA’s Project Officer and scientific coordinator of the course.

Participants looked into key issues such as the rising energy demands linked to modern irrigation systems, the trade-offs between water use, energy consumption, and food security, as well as the environmental issues of water pollution and climate change.

The training was structured to provide practical insights into these challenges, offering innovative technological and policy-based solutions aimed at ensuring sustainability in the Mediterranean region.

The experts also took part in a technical visit to an irrigated Mediterranean region spanning 125,000 hectares. This region draws water from mountain reservoirs in the Pyrenees and presents notable elements of the WEFE nexus.

The visit highlighted key aspects, including water scarcity, renewable energy generation, pumping energy consumption, agricultural production, food supply, water pollution management, and advancements in irrigation systems. Participants were able to discuss in situ the achievements made as well as the intricate challenges encountered during the implementation of the WEFE nexus approach in this specific Mediterranean region.