2022 Report: new strategic plan, incorporation of agritech into the sector, mitigation of climate change…

2022 has been for NEIKER a year of reflections that has culminated with the elaboration of our ‘Strategic Plan 2023-2026’ and the ‘Science, Technology and Innovation Plan 2023-2026’.

With the new strategic plan we define where we want to be and where we should be in the coming years, both from a scientific-technical and management point of view. As Leire Barañano, NEIKER’s general manager, explains, “our new strategic plan is the continuation of the plans we have been developing since 2006. On this occasion, we began work in 2021 identifying the major challenges facing the sector and our society, and during 2022 we completed the process with the corresponding internal and external participation and consultation, gathering all the key inputs to develop the plan”.

In parallel, we have drawn up NEIKER’s ‘Science, Technology and Innovation Plan 2023-2026’, to respond to the major challenges related to the trends, policies and regulations that will mark the evolution of the agri-food and forestry sector.

In addition, in 2022 we have dynamised agritech’s roadmap of the Basque Country for incorporating high technology into the sector and improving its competitiveness. Some of the solutions we have worked on include artificial intelligence to adjust the doses of phytosanitary treatments, BIG DATA to determine the quality of grapes before harvesting, vertical greenhouses or indoor farming or precision livestock farming.

We have also continued to help the sector mitigate the impact of climate change and adapt to its consequences. We have checked, for example, how green roofs maintain wine quality and regenerative grazing increases carbon storage in the soil, and we have planted the first high-yield pines in a forest, obtained through biotechnology, to assess their resistance to high temperatures and water scarcity.

Finally, proximity to the sector is part of our DNA and that is why we organised around twenty transfer events in 2022, which are very well receivedand and have focused on topical issues. We highlight the relevance of the meeting on one health to reflect on the link, closer than we think, between animal, human and environmental health. These conferences allow us to take the pulse of the sector and learn first-hand about its concerns, so that we can continue to innovate and develop products and solutions that are adapted to its real needs.

All this and much more can be found in our corporate report 2022.