Today we held the first Institutional Roundtable for Central Catalonia in Vic, an event that marks a new step in our commitment to strengthen our ties with this region and establish a more local presence.
The meeting, which was attended by the Delegate of the Government in Central Catalonia, Èlia Tortolero, brought together representatives from the administrations, institutions, and the agri-food sector of Central Catalonia with the aim of creating a dialogue space to identify needs, share knowledge, and promote new opportunities for collaboration in an area that is strategic for the region.
Although we do not currently have a specific presence in Central Catalonia, we have long been developing research and innovation projects there in collaboration with companies, cooperatives, and other industry stakeholders. We work in areas such as crop sustainability, precision livestock, and the digitalization of the food industry, and this initiative represents another step to consolidate these relationships and bring our work even closer to the needs of the region.
Our Director General, Josep Usall, has highlighted that “research only makes sense if it is connected to people and territories. We have been collaborating with companies and entities in Central Catalonia for some time, a strategic area for the country’s agri-food sector, but we believe the time has come to take it a step further and strengthen our presence there.”
During the Institutional Roundtable, we heard from local stakeholders, who spoke to us about the main challenges and opportunities facing the agri-food sector in Central Catalonia, and we presented some of the lines of work we are promoting in areas such as the efficient use of water, adaptation to climate change, the sustainability of agricultural and livestock production, food safety, or digitalization.
The event, organized with the support of the Territorial Services of the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing and Food in Central Catalonia, is part of our commitment to being closer to the territories, listening to their needs, and promoting useful research that is connected to the challenges facing the sector and society.
