The future of food security in Spain depends on a strong agricultural sector, capable of adapting to climate change and leading the transition towards sustainability. Today, at the “Paper Pavillion” of IE University’s Law School in Madrid, alinnea, together with the Cajamar Group Foundation and IE University’s School of Science and Technology, presented the results of its work on the climate resilience of the agri-food sector in Spain.
During the event two key documents were presented. The focus was on the final report of alinnea’s working group “Transforming Spain’s agri-food chain: innovation, business model and climate finance.” To contextualize the discussion, a “Sectoral Outlook of the agri-food sector in Spain” was also presented by environmental researcher Diego García-Vega.
The opening of the event was led by the collaborating institutions. Ana Belén Sánchez, alinnea’s director, presented the concept of the think tank’s working groups and highlighted the relevance and complexity of the agri-food sector—marked by the diversity of actors, sizes, and products. Following, Manuel Laínez, director of Agri-Food Innovation and Development at Cajamar Group Foundation, stressed the need to accelerate the adoption of technologies that guarantee the productivity, competitiveness and sustainability of the sector. Carme Huguet, professor at IE University, reminded that research must drive real changes, even if they are not immediate. She emphasized that “the heart of climate resilience lies in the soil”: a resource that covers 38% of the Earth’s surface, a third of which is already degraded. Its care makes it possible to retain water, capture carbon and improve the quality of products.
Next, Diego García-Vega presented the key points of the “Sectoral Outlook of the agri-food sector in Spain.” He underlined that the sector is responsible for 12.2% of national GHG emissions, positioning it as the third largest emitter mainly due to livestock. García-Vega explained that Spain faces a particular challenge compared to other European countries: its soils have a high capacity to retain CO₂, which requires more extensive and adapted production systems. He also reminded that methane mitigation is a priority to reduce short-term warming.
Likewise, he mentioned several solid regulatory frameworks —CAP, PNIEC and PNACC— that drive both mitigation and adaptation of the sector and proposed three lines of action: a fairer redistribution of funds, environmental control of imported products, and protecting the negotiating position of agriculture.
Ana Belén Sánchez presented the main knots and proposals that emerged during the dialogues of the working group—proposed by experts from public and private entities, producers, social organizations and researchers over the past months. Among them she highlighted the lack of precise data impact of climate change in the sector; the absence of an integral chain approach; the deficit of technical training; the opposing narratives that make consensus difficult; and the pressure of maintaining profitability in a context of multiple climate objectives.
In the face of these challenges, alinnea’s director, presented proposals to strengthen the resilience of the sector: planning the transition according to territorial and climatic diversity; promoting multi-stakeholder dialogue with a chain approach; boosting training and support for producers; and linking climate action with competitiveness through new narratives and better incentives. She also underlined the urgency of mobilizing specific financing and strengthening climate risk management to ensure a just and sustainable transition.
Emphasizing alinnea’s values, the day included a dialogue space with the following participants: Alejandro Martínez Berriochoa (Eroski Foundation), Daniel Peña (Cajamar Foundation), Eva Torremocha (Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation), Manuel Linares (Farmers and Ranchers Organizations), and María Navarro (Spanish Office for Climate Change).
The dialogue began with a presentation of the abovementioned institutions, which shared with the audience their climate adaptation initiatives for the agri-food sector. In each intervention, the complexity of this transition was highlighted, marked by the diversity of the sector, and the need to prioritize certain lines of work in order to start seeing change. Afterwards, the panelists —also members of the working group— began to mention which knots they considered most relevant.
Alejandro Martínez stressed that sustainability does not depend only on companies, but also on a change in consumer perspective. María Navarro noted that for MITECO it has been a challenge to identify who all the members of the agri-food chain in the country are and what their responsibilities should be regarding sustainability, which has made passing effective policies complex. In the same line, Manuel Linares emphasized the role of clear regulatory frameworks to achieve environmental objectives, as they are the ones that define sustainability in the first place. Finally, Daniel Peña stressed the need for training and investment in experimental centers to help farmers develop more resilient crops and face these sustainability challenges without losing profitability.
Afterwards, the alinnea’s director led the panel to the second part of the report: the recommendations. Martínez focused his intervention on three axes: clear legislative frameworks, accessible information that drives changes in consumer behavior, and more dialogue throughout the value chain to understand how actors can support each other in the transition. Torremocha emphasized the importance of accompanying farmers in the adoption of good practices, supporting them with knowledge, legislation and financing, instead of penalizing their profitability. Navarro proposed the creation of a state advisory council to improve sector governance and to address the challenges of lack of data and resilience. Finally, Linares highlighted the need for regulations that boost the sector’s profitability instead of penalizing it, also stressing the importance of communication between actors and of setting realistic goals.
After the panel and discussion time, the event concluded with the intervention of Elena Busutil —director general of Agricultural Production and Markets at the Ministry of Agriculture— who began by highlighting the importance of the agri-food sector as an activity of great economic relevance, but also for its role as a producer of healthy and safe food for the entire population, and as a driver of rural development. For this reason, she stressed the importance that the Ministry places on providing the sector with a wide range of measures, tools and resources that allow it to develop its activity and face the consequences of climate change.
