The agri-food PERTE is underway
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has presented the expected agri-food PERTE, to provide the sector with the necessary economic funds to face the environmental, digital, social and economic challenges of the next decade. This measure, together with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and the European Maritime Fund for Fisheries and Aquaculture, represents the largest injection of public funds that the Spanish agri-food sector has ever received.
The Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) are an instrument of public-private collaboration conceived as sectoral initiatives, but with an important potential for the Spanish economy as a whole.
They are programmes that require collaboration between administrations, companies and research organisations, with a comprehensive vision of the value chain and a significant transformational impact. This figure, which is created within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RD 36/2020 of 30 December), has a long-term vocation and is open to all types of companies: large companies, SMEs and start-ups.
In this regard, on 8 February, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, officially presented the PERTE for the agri-food sector following the approval of its executive report by the Council of Ministers. A tool that provides this industry with the necessary funding and measures to face the environmental, digital, social and economic challenges of the next ten years.
This agri-food PERTE will have a public investment of more than 1,000 million euros until 2023 and will be managed by the Ministries of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), Industry, Trade and Tourism (MINCOTUR), Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (MINECO) and Science and Innovation (MICINN).
This aid will be a lever for change to promote the digital transformation of the agri-food chain and boost the modernisation of the sector, its economic growth and territorial cohesion. Furthermore, during his presentation, Planas stressed that, together with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and the European Maritime Fund for Fisheries and Aquaculture, they add up to more than 50,000 million euros and represent “the highest injection of public funds that has ever been injected into the sector”.
Priority axes of the agri-food EERP
The approved report incorporates three priority lines of action of the PERTE, which address transformative activities on the industrial value chain and measures to support the digitisation of the agri-food sector and scientific research.
These lines are accompanied by complementary or facilitating measures that will act in an integrated manner to increase the impact of the actions and thus promote the transformation towards a more sustainable and digital agri-food system.
- Improving production processes in the agri-food industry, endowed with 400 million euros. This is the main measure of the PERTE and will be managed by MINCOTUR, with the aim of promoting projects that improve competitiveness, sustainability and traceability and food safety in this industrial sector.
- Digital adaptation, endowed with 454.35 million euros. Its tools include the MINECO’s Digital Kit Programme, to promote business digitalisation through the incorporation of basic digital solutions for agri-food businesses (ERP, CRM, digital marketing, e-commerce, websites, social media, etc.), as well as the Agents of Change Programme. On the part of the MAPA, the focus is on farmers and livestock farmers to develop the Farming Information System (SIEX). With this, the aim is to advance in the digitalisation of the field notebook to simplify their relationship with the administration.
- Innovation and research, endowed with 148.56 million euros to achieve a competitive agri-food sector in all its links. This axis will be materialised in the reinforcement of existing business R&D support programmes, such as the Science and Innovation Missions and the Cervera Programme, both managed by CDTI. Of particular importance will be the investment to create a Plant Germplasm Platform and the new Animal and Plant Health Laboratories. In addition, financial allocations are included which, through the Complementary Plans, will reinforce the R&D budgets of the autonomous communities for our sector.
Main objectives of the agri-food PERTE
The agri-food PERTE is conceived as a set of measures that benefit companies and self-employed workers in the sector and generate synergies with clear objectives: to improve the competitiveness, sustainability and traceability and safety of the agri-food sector. Furthermore, given the importance of the agri-food sector in rural areas, the contribution to the demographic challenge is incorporated as a cross-cutting objective.
In order to tackle the fight against climate change and adapt to the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, it is necessary to promote the efficient use of natural resources and energy in agri-food production, through the digitalisation of all production processes in the food chain.
With all this, the agri-food PERTE is expected to mobilise a minimum public-private budget of more than 3,000 million euros in the economy of our country, as well as facilitating the net creation of up to 16,000 jobs.
How can we help you?
At artica+i we put our experience in R&D&I project management consultancy at the service of our clients to turn their ideas into projects. This, together with our global management service of European funds, makes our consultancy the best ally to promote the channelling of funds from the European Recovery Instrument and the Multiannual Financial Mechanism (MFF) towards our agri-food companies and their individual and/or collaborative projects.
We are thus positioned as a reference and support point in the task of helping companies and associations in the definition of their multi-year Strategic Plans, aligned with the guidelines of these funds, as well as to promote applications for such financial aid and its proper technical and economic monitoring, a strategy aligned with our purpose, focused on materialising the best future of the Spanish agri-food industry.
