Red Municipal Ganadero Carnica

Our joint work continues with the rest of the interprofessionals for the construction of the Municipal Livestock-Meat Network, a joint initiative to bring together municipalities with a significant presence of livestock and industries in their territory. The next step has been the signing of an important collaboration agreement with the FEMP, and the presentation of what will be the First Network Forum, scheduled for October. We reproduce the joint press release.

The Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) and the six Interprofessional Organizations of the meat sector (OIAS) have signed today a collaboration agreement to promote the Municipal Livestock-Meat Network, an initiative launched by the Interprofessionals to work jointly with the Spanish municipalities that have a significant presence of livestock and industrial activities in their territory.

The agreement has been signed by the secretary general of the FEMP, Carlos Daniel Casares, and the representatives of the OIAS: Antonio Prieto (president of ASICI), Antonio Sánchez (president of AVIANZA), Javier Gómez (vice president of INTERCUN), Raúl Muñiz (president of INTEROVIC), Alberto Herranz (director of INTERPORC) and Eliseu Isla (president of PROVACUNO). The event took place at the National Institute of Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA), whose director, Esther Esteban, welcomed the participants.

In his speech on behalf of the six Interprofessionals, Eliseu Isla stated that «Having the support of the FEMP for the development of this Network is a very relevant step for this initiative. "We are sure that together we will be able to join forces to make visible the rural world and its important role in Spanish territorial cohesion, as well as to promote innovation and progress in the livestock-meat sector.".

For his part, Carlos Daniel Casares has highlighted «the contribution of the livestock-meat sector to the economy of thousands of municipalities in our country. “Depopulation is one of the great challenges we have as a country and livestock farming and meat industries are a tool to generate opportunities in rural areas.”.

The Municipal Livestock-Meat Network aims to give visibility to the role of municipalities in the functioning of the sector, as well as promote public-private collaboration at the municipal level, developing actions or strategies to promote the sector, which has demonstrated its capacity for resilience and strength. strategic during the Covid-19 crisis.

The Network will constitute a space for collaboration to face common challenges and share experiences that stimulate activity in the rural world and in municipalities throughout the territory and was created with the purpose of recognizing the important support of municipalities in the development of the activity of chain. In fact, the joint work carried out by companies and municipalities has allowed the livestock-meat chain to be one of the most important economic drivers in the country for some time and to act as the largest backbone agent of Rural Spain.

In the development of this livestock-meat activity, municipalities play a fundamental role. With their support, the chain's activity has contributed, according to the latest data, a total of 42,000 million euros to the national GDP. The Municipal Livestock-Meat Network was created precisely with the purpose of recognizing this important synergy, and the essential work and support of the municipalities of our country.

Joint work for livestock, meat and the development of rural Spain

In this direction, the six interprofessional organizations that promote the Network have been working together for more than a year on the design of objectives and plans aimed at the social and economic recovery of our country, including the Next Generation Livestock-Meat project that may be part of the next PERTE Agri-food, with its own investments of more than 5,000 million euros distributed in matters of sustainability, digitalization and innovation.

Its application together with aid from the European fund will bring about an unprecedented transformation of the sector in all the municipalities that host this economic activity, creating employment in the rural world and, especially, in areas at serious risk of depopulation. Likewise, work will also be done within the framework of the Network towards the development of the National Demographic Challenge Strategy, in order to adapt the sector's action to the needs of the municipalities.

The first Network Forum will be held in October

After the signing of this agreement, the First Forum of the Network is scheduled to be held in October of this year, with the official presentation of the municipalities that participate in it. There are already town councils such as Totana (Murcia) or Los Tojos (Cantabria), which have formalized their membership in the Network, and others such as Ourense, Marchena (Seville) or Zafra (Badajoz), which are processing it, or such as Porriño (Pontevedra), which plans to approve its incorporation at its next plenary session at the end of this month.

Participation in the Network will allow municipalities to be part of a platform that is visible to the authorities and have a voice through it, benefiting from the interrelation with their counterparts from other localities to share opportunities in the rural world and the sector.

Likewise, they will be able to actively participate in the political conversation, defending the interests of a sector that contributes to the economy, society and demographics of their territory, sharing experiences that stimulate the rural world and achieving institutional, business and public opinion visibility. .

In short, the Municipal Livestock-Meat Network will be a space for everyone, towns and cities, with which to continue building a rural world with quality of life, full of opportunities and with an eye toward the present and the future.