Partners

The Agriculture Service of the Government of Navarra is the Coordinator of the project. Its functions in the Department of Rural Development, Environment and Local Authorities include the official control of the agricultural production means in the context of food security and plant health control. This includes control of the commercialization and use of plant protection products and other means of pest management, participation in the National Phytosanitary Committee and the National Commission of Evaluation of Plant Protection Products.

The Agriculture Service also coordinates and monitors the programmes on training, technical advice and transfer of the R&D&I results.

This Unit also promotes sustainable agricultural production systems, and in particular the organic farming and integrated production.

In addition, through its viticulture unit, the Agriculture Service performs experiments on pests and diseases control in vineyards, advices producers and maintains the network of Pests Monitoring and Warning Stations of the vine.

INTIA has a team of technical advisers, in charge of dissemination and development activities, working mainly through the agricultural cooperatives associated to the Institute. The main technology transfer tools: direct advice to the farmers in the cooperatives, workshops and continuous training, visits to experimental demonstrative fields and to commercial experimentation, and promotional materials: posters, brochures, magazines (Navarra Agraria).

The technicians' work is supported by a team of specialised agronomists responsible for the experimentation programmes and the research projects that are developed in INTIA in collaboration with national and European research groups.

INTIA integrates in its work plans the orientation of agricultural production ecosystems towards sustainability, based on European directives and the conditionality requirements arising from the CAP. For that INTIA carries out:

• Annual testing of nitrogen fertilization and testing of long-term phosphorus and potash of more than 20 years of duration, thanks to which it has been possible to improve the efficiency of mineral fertilizers, alternately incorporating the use of organic materials of different origin.
• Trials of pesticides for the control of pests, diseases and weeds, integrating these techniques within integrated control plans.
• Trials to advice farmers on a more efficient use of water.
• Recently INTIA is working on the incorporation of new technologies of Precision Agriculture.

CONSEBRO was created in 1967, as the canning industry business association, to represent its members and offer the services required to successfully undertake their business evolution. Throughout its career and experience, the association decided to broaden its scope and put its human and technical resources available to the food industry, changing its name to CONSEBRO, Association of Agro-food Industries.
Currently Consebro has 104 members from Navarra, La Rioja and Aragon regions (95 SMEs, i.e. 91.35%). From CONSEBRO a direct dialogue is established with its members as a whole, as companies of the same sector, to achieve effective progress. In the same way, CONSEBRO works to find solutions to particular problems that may arise in the day to day of the companies. Its mission is to promote and develop programs and projects that improve the competitiveness of the sector that, together with dissemination and promotion actions, strengthen agri-food companies.
CONSEBRO has recently founded two companies that arise from the needs of the sector, responding to specific problems; the environmental impact of organic waste and the need for specialized knowledge in specific services. In addition, it participates as a partner cooperating with other stakeholders in projects of interest for the sector.

One of the fundamental purposes of the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Navarra (UCAN), according to its statutes, is "the promotion and organization of services and activities of general interest to agricultural cooperatives aimed at addressing the needs and facilitating the development and efficiency in the management of agricultural cooperatives". Its mission is to "foster a cooperative agri-food business model, profitable, competitive, professional, generator of value and with a relevant dimension, thus contributing to the sustainability of the agri-food sector in Spain". A national level UCAN is integrated into the Agro-food Cooperatives of Spain (CAE), which is the Confederation of autonomous territorial federations, and which in turn is integrated into the COGECA.

Within the areas of advice, consultancy and training, the Advisory entity also advises to the cooperatives, among others, on plant health issues, such as:

• Plant protection products authorized for different crops and the problems of minor crops.
• Regulations related to the use and marketing of pesticides.
• Regulations arising out of the application of the Directive on sustainable use of pesticides.

In addition, since 1997 UCAN has participated in the development of integrated production as one of the members of the Coordinating Commission for the Integrated Production of Navarre, whose functions are:

• Propose performance standards and develop work plans
• Be aware of the activities on integrated production laid down in the regulations
• Report on the regulation affecting each product
• Report on requests for use of the logo
• Report on any measure of interest in relation to the integrated production (technical, promotion, management, etc.)

Throughout these years, UCAN has promoted integrated production among its cooperative partners and has advised on the procedures required for its development in different crops.