• CIHEAM Zaragoza has hosted and co-organized the XIV Congress of the Spanish Association of Agrifood Economists (Zaragoza, 6-8 September).

• The Secretary General of CIHEAM, Teodoro Miano, has highlighted the need to foster connections across sectors and establish international collaborations to address the current challenges faced by the agrifood sector.

Zaragoza, 8 September 2023.- CIHEAM Zaragoza has hosted and promoted the XIV Congress of the Spanish Association of Agrifood Economists (AEEA) held in Zaragoza from 6 to 8 September to exchange ideas and discuss strategies to respond to the challenges currently facing agrifood systems.

In a setting marked by climate change and by concerns about food security due to the conflict in Ukraine, the congress has paid special attention to the central theme of global geopolitics: global challenges and local impacts.

CIHEAM’s secretary general, Teodoro Miano, provided a Mediterranean perspective, speaking of the intergovernmental organization’s role in promoting greater sustainability and resilience in agrifood systems. In this sense, Miano emphasized the importance of forging connections between economic sectors and between countries with diverse cultures and religions.

Miano spoke of these connections: “There is a deep mutual relationship between agricultural production and other sectors such as energy, mechanization, processing, and SMEs” and went on to talk about mapping the connections between natural resources and social factors. “From CIHEAM we strive to preserve the rural communities, invest in our youth and empower women".

CIHEAM’s secretary general also spoke of the work carried out by the organization and its 13 member countries (Albania, Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey), as a driver of multilateral dialogue and development of rural communities in the Mediterranean basin.

Miano went on to say: “We operate for peace. We work to connect countries, communities, people with different religions, and diverse cultural backgrounds… We move in the direction of connecting systems instead of dividing them, including the social system, which is essential”.

In the session “Food geopolitics: global challenges, local impacts” Miano was joined by Javier Sierra, former director of CIHEAM Zaragoza and currently Counsellor of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to the United Nations and the WTO in Geneva, who explained the international governance framework for agrifood systems; Gabriel Trenzado, director general of Agriculture and Food Cooperatives of Spain who provided the vision of the Spanish cooperative sector; and Nuria Arribas, managing director of the Interprofessional Dairy Organization, who focused on the perspective of the dairy sector.

HOT TOPICS FOR RESEARCH IN AGRIFOOD ECONOMICS

Apart from food geopolitics, other core topics addressed during the AEEA Congress included governance of sustainable agrifood systems and new tools to promote sustainable consumption. The Congress addressed other topics currently on the political agenda as well as research priorities in the field of agrifood economics.

“The agrifood sector faces challenges today that either didn’t exist in the past or were not as severe as they are today, including climate change and geopolitical conflicts. For the production sector and the other actors in the agrifood chain we have to think of the future in strategic terms, with objectives, plans and resources”, stated Raúl Compés, director of CIHEAM Zaragoza and president of the Local Organizing Committee of the AEEA Congress.

With over 200 participants and 350 contributions, the event was co-organized by CIHEAM Zaragoza, the Agri-Food Research and Technology Centre of Aragón (CITA), the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Zaragoza and the Agrifood Institute of Aragon (IA2).

In his final remarks, Compés spoke of the importance of Zaragoza and Aragon from the perspective of agriculture and food and the region’s capacity to generate and apply knowledge and added: “On behalf of CIHEAM’s headquarters in Spain, it has been an honour and a responsibility to promote and host this Congress”.

Don't miss the video recording of the session “Food geopolitics: global challenges, local impacts” from the XIV Congress of the Spanish Association of Agrifood Economists (AEEA).