Participants
To carry out this initiative, a supra-regional multidisciplinary operational group (Galicia and Asturias) has been created, comprising a total of 6 participants, including both applicant members and collaborating members.
Requesting members
Innovation agent and knowledge transfer office between the research sector and the business world in various sectors, such as agri-food and forestry, through the promotion and management of projects, as well as participation in leading communication, dissemination, and exploitation activities. It participates in the following projects: H2020 SoildiverAgro and ROADMAP, Interreg POCTEP Biomasa-AP and Conserval, Interreg Sudoe VINIoT; the regional operational groups BIO_MARTERRA, MULTI-Forest, PURINPRECISO, and SUEROVAL; and the supra-regional groups Ash4Soil, MAXI-CoberLEG, OLIVEBIOME, OLIVITECH, PLANFORLAB, PRERIVID, SIMBAV, and UBAVIDA.
CAMPOASTUR is a first-degree cooperative, formed from the merger of six Asturian cooperatives (Ugati-S.Coop., Cosea S.Coop., Cooperativa Agropecuaria de Cangas del Narcea, Aacomasi, Coastur, and La Oturense). Its formation results from the convenience of cooperative integration processes, promoted both at the national and regional levels, to strengthen associative organizations following the major transformation of the agricultural sector and in the new competitive framework of our society.
Its main activity is the production and commercialization of conventional and organic animal feed, for which it operates two feed mills for conventional farming and another for organic farming. Additionally, it also engages in the commercialization of all types of inputs for agricultural holdings through its cooperative warehouses and stores, the commercialization of agri-food products from its members, especially milk, cider apples, and Asturian beans, technical and mutual aid services for associated farms, the sale of household products in its rural supermarkets, and the distribution of diesel fuel.
CAPSA, located in Siero (Asturias), is a leading national dairy company in the sales of liquid milk, cream, and butter. Its shareholder base is an agrarian transformation company composed of thousands of farmers, making it one of the dairy companies with the largest number of small and medium-sized dairy suppliers.
CAPSA was the first Spanish dairy company to obtain the B Corp certification, which aims to create a positive social impact on society and the planet through its activities, meeting the highest social, environmental, and community standards. Its business model is supported by a comprehensive Sustainability Plan that spans the entire value chain from farming to the end consumer. Its main strategic pillars are supporting rural areas and fighting against rural depopulation in Spain, promoting consumer health, creating exemplary jobs, and caring for the environment.
AGACA is the association that represents Galician agri-food cooperatives, with offices in Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, and Ourense. Its mission is to represent and lead the strategies and actions that help agri-food cooperativism in the Autonomous Community stand out in all economic and social areas, as well as promote the competitiveness of agricultural cooperatives, supporting and guiding them through inter-cooperation processes.
AGACA is made up of 93 member entities (first and second-degree cooperatives and Agricultural Transformation Societies), which are further composed of primary producers from various sectors. In the institutional sphere, it plays a key role in forums that address the interests of cooperativism at both national and international levels, either directly or through its participation in representative organizations such as Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de España and the European Union’s Committee of Agricultural Cooperatives (COGECA), fostering dialogue and inter-cooperation between different sectors.
Additionally, AGACA provides specialized technical services in the agri-livestock sector (carbon footprint, food and process quality, energy savings, equality, and insurance), alongside a wide range of training and informational services.
INTEREO is an association formed by fourteen municipalities, seven of which belong to the Principality of Asturias (Castropol, San Martín de Oscos, San Tirso de Abres, Santa Eulalia de Oscos, Taramundi, Vegadeo, and Villanueva de Oscos) and the other seven are in the province of Lugo, Galicia (A Fonsagrada, A Pontenova, Baleira, Negueira de Muñiz, Ribadeo, Ribeira de Piquín, and Trabada). All of them together make up the Biosphere Reserve Río Eo, Oscos, and Terras de Burón.
INTEREO’s social objective is to promote, support, and manage initiatives that bring advancements to its territory, both from an environmental and rural development perspective. Established on April 7, 2009, it has a structure that has managed and continues to manage various types of projects focused on the development of its territorial scope.
Collaborating members
The USC will participate in the project through the Silvopastoral Systems Group, one of the eight research groups within the Department of Plant Production and Engineering Projects. This group is part of the “Agroecology and Agroforestry Systems Research” Programme, coordinated by researcher María Rosa Mosquera Losada, and includes personnel from social sciences (Faculty of Geography), plant production (Higher Polytechnic School of Engineering), and Artificial Intelligence (Faculty of Physics).
The main objective of the Silvopastoral Systems Research Group is to promote rural development through the management and transfer of knowledge to improve rural competitiveness and the provision and quality of products and services under sustainable productive, environmental, and social conditions. The group has over 30 years of experience in the research of agricultural, forestry, and agroforestry systems, focusing on productivity (nutrition, livestock production, bioeconomy), environment (adaptation and mitigation of climate change, soil carbon sequestration, life cycle assessment, greenhouse gas emissions), nutrient recycling (circular economy), biodiversity (native breeds and flora and soil biodiversity), and social aspects.