• The final grant resolution for the 2019 call for AEI-Agri projects has been published on March 13, 2020.
• The proposals by theme have been agriculture, livestock, the agri-food industry, the forestry sector, and rural development and irrigation.
• 25 Operational Groups address the topic of digitalization and big data

Forty -seven innovative projects of general interest from supra-regional Operational Groups have been awarded grants under the 2014-2020 National Rural Development Program (PNDR), specifically submeasure 16.2. This is intended to boost innovation in the agri-food and forestry sectors within the framework of the AEI-Agri (the European Innovation Partnership for Productive and Sustainable Agriculture).

Themes

The largest number of projects proposed for approval within the 2019 call correspond to those related to agriculture (18 projects, 38% of the total), followed by the livestock sector (13 projects, 28% of the total), the agri-food industry (6 projects, 13%), the forestry sector and rural development (each with 4 projects, 9% of the total) and finally, irrigation with 2 projects (4% of the total).

By subsector, projects related to agricultural techniques, farm management, and plant health stand out (with 7, 6, and 5 projects respectively), demonstrating the agricultural sector's predominance in this call, both in terms of the number of applications received and the number of projects proposed for approval. Further behind, livestock farm management appears with three projects.

In this 2019 call, the majority of projects are based on improving the competitiveness of the food industry and the value chain, with more than 51% of the projects submitted. This contrasts with last year's, when projects aimed at improving farm economic results predominated, and this year they are in second place with 34%.

According to the applications submitted, 25 groups address the topic of digitalization and big data , representing over 53.19% of the projects. This demonstrates the predominance of more technological projects over more traditional ones.

Figures

The 2019 call is the second such multi-year call, with a budget of €25.5 million . A total of 254 applications were received, requesting a total of more than €116.5 million. The average grant requested is around €481,759.84.

Of the 254 applications, 242 were accepted. Among those not accepted, the majority were duplicate or trial applications. The 47 selected projects would absorb a total of €23,395,285.96; €10,538,531.39 in 2020 and €12,856,754.57 in 2021.

Of the 47 proposed projects, 32 correspond to supra-regional groups that had previously received a MAPA-PNDR grant for their creation (68.08%). Therefore, a clear link can be seen between submeasures 16.1 and 16.2; this represents the beginning and end of a path that maintains the AEI-Agri philosophy.

Regarding the typology of the 47 beneficiary members, the participation of private organizations stands out, with 65.03% representation, the majority of which are SMEs.

AEI-Agri and Operational Groups

The European Innovation Partnership for Productive and Sustainable Agriculture (EIP-Agri) aims to accelerate innovation in the agricultural sector, achieving competitive agriculture that produces more with fewer resources and a lower environmental impact.  

The AEI-Agri aims to improve the exchange and transfer of knowledge from research to practical application.

For practical purposes, the main actors in the implementation of the EIP-Agri are the operational groups . Projects and operational groups are shared through the National Rural Network and the European EIP-Agri Network.