The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands has published the call to apply for subsidies to support the creation and operation of operational groups of the European Innovation Agency (EIA), in terms of agricultural productivity and sustainability and for the realization of pilot projects and the development of new products, practices, processes and technologies. The deadline to submit the application to qualify for these grants will be September 23.
“These grants are intended to support the creation and operation of EIA operational groups that benefit the areas of agricultural productivity and sustainability with the realization of pilot projects that imply an improvement in the competitiveness of the sector”, explained the Minister of the area, Alicia Vanoostende. In this sense, she points out that “the objective is to promote innovation, cooperation and agricultural development in rural areas, promoting a more competitive, efficient and environmentally friendly agriculture”.
From the Ministry they explain that these grants are aimed at those groups that develop their activity within the agricultural sector or the transformation and commercialization of agri-food products, which seek to resolve "some of the issues related to the problems posed by the achievement of the objectives of the European Innovation Association in the field of productive and sustainable agriculture".
This call has an initial allocation of 500,000 euros from FEADER funds. It is co-financed by the European Union, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. The payment of the aid will be made directly to the beneficiaries through the Paying Agency for European Agricultural Funds.