Good practice:

Strategic investment for improving the R&D capability of the agri-food industry in La Rioja

Currently, La Rioja has 2 agri-food technology centres (attached to the Department for Agriculture, Livestock farming and the Environment of the Government of La Rioja) which are administered by two non-profit associations engaged in R&D for the agri-food sector, namely ASOCHAMP (the Mushroom Technological Research Centre in Autol) and AIDISA (with facilities in Calahorra and Alesón) centred on the meat industry and the transformation and processing of vegetable product. These are centres of reference for innovation in the food industry at national level, acting as a driving force for the business sector of the Ebro Valley.
The Good practices consisted in purchasing state-of-the-art scientific equipment (by public procurement) so as to enable these two centers to improve the range of technological services they could offer and thereby better meet the needs of the agri-food business sector. This equipment has served to improve the capacity of the centres’ analytical services, the setting up of new pilot plants and the development of new R&D projects in three key sectors of the regional and national economy.

With this investment whose eligible cost amounts to 586,773 € of which 50%, 293,386 € is funded by the grant from the ERDF, the regional executive has increased the region’s technological capital, by improving scientific infrastructures which are able to retain and attract research talent

The main achievements are the following:
-Improved ability to develop international innovation projects.
-Opening of new lines of research and development in sectors such as food conservation and food and health.
-It has allowed the incorporation of researchers with new profiles that add value to the agri-food sector.
-There have been new possibilities for private public collaboration between technology centers and companies.

Among all the diagnostic studies conducted in La Rioja, the first-ranked weakness is the low investment in R&D (La Rioja has an R&D expenditure of 0.84% of GDP compared to 2% in the EU in the year 2016). And as a threat, that the industrial sectors of La Rioja are technologically very mature.

The learning potential of this good practice is as follows:
It is a collaboration between public administration and technology centers to improve the scientific and innovative capacities of strategic sectors.
It stimulates structural funds in research and innovation in low-technology sectors such as the canning industry, meat industry and the mushroom sector.
This good practice has allowed the development of international innovation projects thanks to public-private investments with a direct impact on the economy of La Rioja.
This action is framed with the objectives and lines of action of La Rioja's smart specialization strategy and has been agreed upon with multiple agents of the regional economy (public and private).