Por Redaccion 
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has published this Wednesday in the Official State Gazette (BOE) the extract of the resolution convening this year’s grants for the preparation and execution of innovation projects of general interest by supra-regional operational groups of the European Association for Innovation in the field of agricultural productivity and sustainability (AEI-Agri), with a record endowment of 46.5 million euros, making it the largest budget in the history of this line of support.
Specifically, these grants are framed within the rural development pillar of the National Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with 80% of the funding coming from European funds and 20% from the ordinary budgets of the Department led by Luis Planas.
Interested parties in these grants can submit their applications until 2:00 p.m. on June 4th.
The maximum aid limit per beneficiary group is set at 600,000 euros, and projects can be executed until May 1, 2029.
Agriculture has explained that it is common for the project to be designed by dividing the eligible period into two: one from its start until May 1, 2027, and another from that moment until, at most, May 1, 2029.
In this way, groups, with a maximum of eight members, of individuals or legal entities that include a stakeholder from the agri-food and forestry sector, and also have a representative who is a non-profit entity, but who can include other entities as required by the project, can apply for these grants.
Applicants must commit to implementing an innovative project in several autonomous communities, according to their basic and strategic needs to address any of the specific objectives of the CAP.
This call does not have specific thematic lines to fit projects into. In this way, not only classic innovations in product or process of agronomic or food nature, or for environmental sustainability, are promoted, but also innovative projects aimed at attracting and retaining talent in rural areas, innovating in sustainable business development initiatives and local community development, as well as promoting gender equality.
The consortium submitting the application must be led by a representative who is a non-profit private entity. Universities and other entities of the regional public sector can participate in operational groups as subcontracted members, but not as beneficiaries managing the grant directly.
In addition, it will be mandatory for the results of these innovative projects to be incorporated into the ‘EU Farmbook’ knowledge platform, an initiative funded by the European Commission within the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme.