The 3rd Annual Conference of the Chair of Agri-food Cooperatives of the Universitat de València was held on 5 October, at which was presented the report entitled: "Innovative models to promote Agri-food Cooperatives, avoid the abandonment of farms and encourage generational change”.
Every year, the Chair for Agri-food Cooperatives holds an annual conference in a different part of Spain, the last one being in Valencia in 2018 and Zaragoza in 2019. This year, due to the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was held online.
The session, which was attended by more than 120 people, was presented and moderated by Tomás Rojas, director of the Finance, Tax and Internal Management Are of Agri-food Cooperatives from Spain. The Conference was opened by M. Dolores Real García, Vice-Principal for Innovation and Transfer at Universitat de València; and Carlos Seara Diéguez, Director of Agrobank.
Subsequently, Pilar Alguacil Marí, Professor of Tax and Financial Law at Universitat de València and Director of the Chair for Agri-food Cooperatives, presented the activities carried out by the Chair during its second year.
Then, the authors of the report on “Innovative models to boost Agri-food Cooperatives, avoid the abandonment of farms and encourage generational change” presented their contributions to the report. Fernando Sacristán Bergia, Professor at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid, presented the commercial aspects and the problems faced by cooperatives. For its part, Carmen Pastor del Pino, Professor at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena, presented proposals for reforming the tax law on cooperatives. Finally, Ignacio Zabaleta analysed a practical case study of innovative models in cooperatives, specifically, the Artajona Cooperative in Navarra.
Thereafter, Professor Cristina Cano Ortega, from the University of Almeria, gave a presentation on the need to reform the state law on cooperatives. This session was brought to a close by the Director of Agri-food Cooperatives of Spain, Agustín Herrero González, who highlighted the work of the Chair.
The full report can be read at this link.
