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SPOTLIGHT | New Models of Agri-Food Development Cooperation in a Changing Geopolitical Context
CIHEAM Zaragoza organised an international symposium on the global future of agri-food development cooperation with the support of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). The event brought together over one hundred participants from development agencies, multilateral organisations, governments of donor and beneficiary countries, universities, research centres, Development NGOs, and civil society from 28 countries. [Read more]
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GOVERNANCE | CIHEAM Zaragoza Director Raúl Compés attended the 158 CIHEAM Governing Board Meeting at the Agricultural Research Center in Egypt (ARC), hosted by the Egyptian authorities and CIHEAM's Delegate for Egypt, Adel Abd Elazzim Akhdr. We were honoured by the participation of Deputy Minister of Agriculture Mustafa Al-Sayyad, which demonstrates the strong cooperation between Egypt and CIHEAM. [Read more].
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SYNERGIES | On 27 and 28 of October, CIHEAM Zaragoza participated in the National Conference on the Modernisation of Agriculture in Algiers, contributing to the workshop on digital transformation in the agricultural sector. The conference opened opportunities for collaboration with institutions in northern Africa in matters concerning agricultural digitalisation, plant breeding, animal breeding, and silvopastoral systems. [Read more]
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OUR INSIGHTS
A cooperative approach to the agrifood sector
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ANALYSIS | Strengthening Mediterranean livestock production under climate change conditions
Andrés Schlageter, administrator of the training area 'Animal Production and Welfare' at CIHEAM Zaragoza, addresses in this article the growing challenges that climate change poses to livestock production, and some of the most important strategies that are being implemented. [Read more] |
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ALUMNI | Dena Camarena, Chancellor of the University of Sonora (México). [Read interview]
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Taking a glimpse into the future of agrifood systems
with the help of our experts
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Inaugural Ceremony of the 2025-2026 Academic Year
The ceremony officially launched this year's master's programmes. Presiding were Javier Rincón, Counsellor of Agriculture, Livestock and Food of the Government of Aragon; Director Compés; CIHEAM Secretary General Teodoro Miano; Juan Antonio Vallés, Director of the Vice-Rectorate for Internationalisation and Cooperation of the University of Zaragoza; and Fernando Miranda, Counsellor of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for the Embassy of Spain in Rome and Permanent Representative of Spain to the FAO. The ceremony included an In Memoriam tribute to former directors Miguel Mut Catalá and Miguel Valls Ortiz, and the presentation of the second Ramón Esteruelas-CIHEAM Zaragoza Prize 2023-2025. [Read more]
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Elite training for virgin olive tasting panel leaders
CIHEAM Zaragoza hosted a new edition of the course for Panel Leaders on the Sensory Analysis of Virgin Olive Oil, in collaboration with the International Olive Council (IOC). Over five days, international experts analysed the official methodology, panel management, and quality assurance in the sensory analysis of olive oil. [Read more]
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Sustainability in global aquatic food systems
34 professionals from 16 countries across North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe participated in an advanced course held in Zaragoza. Jointly organised by CIHEAM Zaragoza and the FAO, the programme brought together international experts to address sustainability challenges in aquatic food system. [Read more]
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Representatives of universities in Kenya and Tanzania visit CIHEAM Zaragoza in the framework of the FOSTER project
The initiative, co-financed by the European Union, aims to strengthen digital transformation in science and education in Kenya and Tanzania. The group was accompanied by staff from the University of Zaragoza and from Ibercivis Foundation. [Read more] |
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Wastewater reuse for agriculture
Thirty-four professionals from 12 countries from North Africa, the Middle East and Europe attended the Advanced Course on Wastewater Reuse for Agriculture, held at CIHEAM Zaragoza in October. The course was jointly organised by CIHEAM Zaragoza and ICARDA, with the collaboration of FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa, AECID and IWMI. [Read more] |
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Agriculture 5.0 for productivity and sustainability in the Mediterranean
CIHEAM Zaragoza and ICARDA organised an advanced course on Agriculture 5.0 and the future of agricultural productivity and sustainability in the Mediterranean. The course brought together 30 professionals from 11 countries across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe. [Read more] |
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Agri-Food Geopolitics in the Mediterranean
Fernando Miranda delivered the opening keynote lecture for the 2025-2026 academic year at CIHEAM Zaragoza, In his presentation, he analysed the impact of current international conflicts on agri-food relations in the Mediterranean region.
[Watch the lecture] |
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CIHEAM Zaragoza celebrates World Food Day 2025 with Zaragoza Convention Bureau
Under the theme ‘The Language of Food in the Mediterranean’, CIHEAM Zaragoza celebrated World Food Day with a warm welcome to representatives of the city’s business community, all members of the City Council’s Convention Bureau. [Read more]
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Experts warn of the high accident rate in agriculture in a new book published by Cajamar
Cajamar presents the book 'The Agrifood Sector and the Workplace: A Relationship in Transformation' at EXPO SAGRIS. The book includes a chapter by Alun Jones from CIHEAM Zaragoza and Isaac Abril from the INSST, and warns of the high accident rate in the agriculture sector, calling for urgent, systemic improvements. [More information]
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Launch of the SafeHabitus Policy Brief at the European Parliament
The Policy Brief presents ten key recommendations to build safer and more sustainable farming livelihoods. A high-level policy roundtable brought together MEPs and representatives from major European agricultural organisations to discuss how these recommendations can be implemented and make mental well-being a core pillar of agricultural sustainability. [More information]
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Boosting women’s leadership in agriculture and rural innovation
Empowering women in agriculture is key to building sustainable and resilient rural communities. The GRASS CEILING project has launched a free online course designed to strengthen the role of rural women as innovators and leaders across Europe. Through a mix of theory, real-life case studies, and practical tools, this MOOC helps learners actively support women-led socio-ecological projects. [More information]
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Visiting IFAPA World Olive Germplasm Bank
On the occasion of World Olive Day, 26 November, director Raúl Compés visited the IFAPA World Olive Germplasm Bank (BGMO-IFAPA) highlighting the importance of preserving the diversity and the cultural and agricultural richness of this emblematic species. This bank, through its World Collection of Olive Varieties, has played an essential role for decades in the conservation and maintenance of the olive's varietal heritage.
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AKIS | In November, CIHEAM Zaragoza participated in a ModernAKIS project session focused on strengthening Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems in Spain. Director Raúl Compés and Project Manager Irene Gavieiro represented our institute alongside ministry technicians, research institutions, digital platforms, and agricultural advisers. We analysed how our project PREMIERE aligns with AKIS systems, helping us enhance our knowledge transfer and innovation capabilities in the food systems of member countries.
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INNOVATION | In November we joined our CIHEAM colleagues at the Innovation Fair in Brussels to showcase our work on sustainable agriculture and food systems across the Mediterranean. The event, which gathered stakeholders from Europe and Africa, provided a valuable space to share innovative solutions with real societal impact, foster new collaborations, and exchange ideas with researchers, policymakers and entrepreneurs.
[Read more]
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LIVESTOCK | Our colleague Antonio López-Francos represented CIHEAM Zaragoza at the 4th Annual Meeting of the Re-Livestock project in Valencia, a Horizon Europe initiative working to make livestock systems more sustainable, resilient, and climate-ready by reducing GHG emissions, strengthening climate adaptation and accelerating the adoption of innovative practices across Europe. More than 80 experts and participants gathered at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) to share progress, align next steps and exchange insights with leading voices from across the livestock and research sectors.
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AQUACULTURE | CIHEAM Zaragoza attended the II Aquaculture Morocco International Conference (AMIC 2025), a key event bringing together leading experts in genetics, nutrition, and sustainable aquaculture. Our colleague Bernardo Basurco joined international specialists contributing to this global discussion, and was delighted to interact with former students of the International Master in Marine Aquaculture now actively involved in the sector. Strengthening skills, sharing knowledge, and supporting sustainable growth remain at the core of our mission.
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MOROCCO | CIHEAM Zaragoza was in the northern Region of Morocco in October working on the formulation of a local development project focused on the improvement and valorisation of traditional cheese produced by women. During the mission, we visited traditional cheese-making facilities and held meetings with key actors from the Ministry of Agriculture to assess the project's strategy, ensure institutional collaboration and maximise the impact on local communities.
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ALGERIA | Director Raúl Compés welcomed Kamel Chikhi, University Professor in the Ecole Supérieure de Management Tlemcen in Algeria, together with Luis Miguel Albisu, former Scientific Coordinator of the CIHEAM Zaragoza International Master in Agri-Food Marketing, and Tiziana de Magistris, Research Economist at the Agri-Food Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA Aragón).
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Team building | A record number of CIHEAM Zaragoza students and staff took part in the 2025 ESIC Corporate Run
CIHEAM Zaragoza was proud to enrol a record-breaking number of 7 teams of students and staff in this popular run organised by the ESIC Business School to encourage team building and companionship. It was a great opportunity for CIHEAM Zaragoza students from the Animal Nutrition and Plant Genetics, Genomics and Breeding master’s programmes to step out of the classrooms and join in activities organised in their new city of residence. [Read more]
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IRRIGATION | CIHEAM Zaragoza hosted the commemorative event for the 40th anniversary of the rural and agri-food engineering consultancy CINGRAL. At the event, which took place on 20 November, specialists, irrigation communities and other representatives from the sector engaged in in-depth discussions on the technical, environmental and financial sustainability of irrigation modernisation.
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PLANT HEALTH | On 26 November, CIHEAM Zaragoza hosted the 9th Technical Forum on Plant Health organised by the Plant Health and Certification Service of the Government of Aragon, dedicated to precision agriculture and artificial intelligence in crop protection. A space where technological innovation meets plant health to build the future of our agriculture.
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ENOMAQ | CIHEAM Zaragoza joins the Organising Committee of Enomaq2027, an International Trade Fair that will be held at the Feria de Zaragoza. Our director Raúl Compés, took part in the constituent meeting held at Aceites Lis. CIHEAM Zaragoza is committed to collaborating in initiatives that strengthen strategic alliances and promote the sustainable development of Mediterranean agri-food systems.
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MujerAGRO Awards | CIHEAM Zaragoza's director is a member of the jury of the MujerAGRO Awards, which highlights the leading role of women, men and companies that are transforming the agricultural sector in Spain. This year, a total of 49 applications have been assessed, and the jury's decision will be made public on 20 February 2026 in Madrid at the headquarters of the National Association of Agricultural Engineers.
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Programmes need to be adapted to become more efficient with less resources. Raúl Compés [Read article]
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A European project with participation from Aragon seeks to improve mental health in the agricultural sector [Read article]
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Happy Day of the Mediterranean!
On 28th November 2020, the 42 member states of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) declared this date as the Day of the Mediterranean. CIHEAM Zaragoza, the Spanish headquarters of CIHEAM, joins the celebration by emphasising the strategic importance of strengthening agri-food systems across Mediterranean countries given their high vulnerability to climate change, and of incorporating young people and women to maintain productive potential. Through all its activities, CIHEAM Zaragoza contributes to building human capital in member states—a necessary condition for increasing production sustainably and improving food access for all citizens. The cause of a more prosperous Mediterranean with greater opportunities for its inhabitants is one of the great challenges of the 21st century.
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International Olive Council | The President of CIHEAM Governing Board, Frida Krifca, the Secretary General, Teodoro Miano, and the Director of CIHEAM Zaragoza, Raul Compès, took part in the 122 plenary session of the IOC held in as observers. The event coincided with World Olive Day and brought together forty-five member countries and several international observer organisations, in a context where the olive sector is making a strong recovery after two difficult years. [Read more]
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Women Entrepreneurs in the MENA Region | Around 80 regional stakeholders gathered in Cairo for the Stakeholder Dialogue and Training Workshop on Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in the Agro-Food Sector of the MENA region through social and technological innovation. The event was organised by the UfM with financial support from AECID, in collaboration with CIHEAM, the FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa, the EI/AUC Egypt and the SFSMed platform. [Read more]
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Water Challenges in the Mediterranean Region | Frida Krifca, President of CIHEAM Governing Board, participated in the session “Water Challenges in the Mediterranean Region: Cooperation and Exchange of Knowledge” organised within the framework of the 11th edition of the MED Dialogues, the leading forum on the Mediterranean promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI). [Read more]
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MED-AMIN | The MED-Amin network is a monitoring network for the markets of four cereals (soft and durum wheat, barley, maize and rice) in the Mediterranean. This network, coordinated by CIHEAM Montpellier, aims to improve the quality of information on cereal markets in the Mediterranean region, which is heavily involved in cereal trading circuits and highly vulnerable to price volatility.
[Read more]
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Workshop “Are Mediterranean grasslands at a tipping point? Current state and future resilience of grasslands and their ecosystem services to global change (climate warming, fire and land use) around the Mediterranean basin”
Dates: 17-19 February 2026
Venue: CIHEAM Montpellier
Organisers: CIHEAM Zaragoza / CIHEAM Montpellier / CNRS
Advanced course “Regenerative Agriculture and Sustainable Soil Management: Building Climate Resilience and Food Security in the Mediterranean”
Dates: 9-14 March 2026
Venue: CIHEAM Zaragoza
Organisers: CIHEAM Zaragoza / MAPA / ICARDA
Regional course on the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oil to improve quality
Dates: 24-27 March 2026
Venue: Tunisia
Organisers: CIHEAM Zaragoza / IOC / ONH
Mediterranean Network of Sustainable Livestock Systems
Dates: 7-11 April 2026
Venue: Madrid
Organisers: CIHEAM Zaragoza / IMIDRA / FAO / AECID / Fundación Trashumancia y Naturaleza
Advanced course “Agricultural Risk Management and Insurance in Times of Climate Change”
Dates: 13–17 April 2026
Venue: CIHEAM Zaragoza
Organisers: CIHEAM Zaragoza / CEIGRAM-UPM
Workshop “Low-impact aquaculture production systems”
Dates: 20-22 April 2026
Venue: La Ràpita
Organisers: CIHEAM Zaragoza / IRTA / AECID
Advanced course “Creating added value in Precision Livestock Farming: From sensors to decisions”
Dates: 4-8 May 2026
Venue: Madrid
Organisers: CIHEAM Zaragoza / CSIC / UPV / Re-Livestock / DG 4 LIFE
Keynote lecture “The Mediterranean Diet: A 30-year research journey with new challenges ahead”
Speaker: Miguel Ángel Martínez (Univ. Navarra)
Date: 13 May 2026
Venue: CIHEAM Zaragoza
Advanced course “Tackling Wildfires in the Mediterranean: Towards an Integrated Fire Management”
Dates: 11-16 May 2026
Venue: CIHEAM Zaragoza
Organisers: CIHEAM Zaragoza / CTFC / PCF / EU FIRE-RES / AECID
SECH Congress “Fruit Growing and Citrus Production”
Dates: 16-18 June 2026
Venue: CIHEAM Zaragoza
Organisers: CIHEAM Zaragoza / CITA / SECH
Seminar “Mitigation and adaptation strategies in sustainable Mediterranean food systems”
Dates: 2-4 June 2026
Venue: CIHEAM Zaragoza
Organisers: CIHEAM Zaragoza / Red Remedia / AECID
1st Mediterranean Week of Food Entrepreneurship
Dates: 22-26 June 2026
Venue: CIHEAM Zaragoza
Organisers: CIHEAM Zaragoza / AECID |
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Sharing knowledge, feeding the future
CIHEAM insights and publications
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Balduque-Gil, J., Garcés-Claver, A., Pérez-Lamuela, I., Barriuso-Vargas, J.J., Fayos, O. (2024). Molecular Detection of the Grapevine Pathogens Plasmopara viticola and Erysiphe necator from Airborne Inoculum Collector Cyclones. Agronomy, 14, 2619.
CIHEAM (2024). CIHEAM Annual Report 2023/2024.
CIHEAM (2023). Youth Commitment to Sustainable Food Systems: A Mediterranean Overview. Watch Letter 41 (17 April 2023)
Compés R., Moro C., Sotés V. (eds) (2024). Premium wine in Spain. On the Road to Excellence. Cajamar Caja Rural.
Dernini S., Capone R. (eds) ( 2024). Sustainable food systems. Change of route in the Mediterranean. Valenzano: CIHEAM Bari.
FAO (2023). Sustainable agrifood systems in the Mediterranean: Levers for transformation.
Fernández Sánchez, J. L., Basurco, B., Aguilera, C. (2023). Economic assessment of investment in automatic feeding systems for sea bass grow-out farms of different sizes. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 1-10.
Jones, A., Abril, I. (2025). Condiciones y riesgos laborales en el sector agropecuario. In: Ortiz Miranda, D., Atance Muñiz, I. (coord.). Sector agroalimentario y trabajo. Una relación en transformación. Cajamar Caja Rural.
Krause M.R. et al. (2025). Oregon Wolfe barley genetic stocks – Research and teaching tools for next generation scientists. Journal Plant Registrations, 2025;19:e70004
Muniesa A., Ruiz-Zarzuela I. Lamielle G., Von Dobschuetz S., Furones, D, Rodgers C., Basurco B. (2024). Applying the FAO surveillance evaluation tool (SET) to assess the fish farming disease surveillance system in Spain. Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
PASTINNOVA (2025). The White Paper on Pastoralism in the Mediterranean Area.
SafeHabitus (2025). Mental health and well-being of farmers. Policy Brief. |
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GENDER | CIHEAM Zaragoza works to fulfill their obligations in terms of equality and gender, together with the rest of the Institutes and the CIHEAM General Secretariat. This commitment has led to the Institute’s Gender Equality Plan (GEP) that you can download here.
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SPACES AND FACILITIES | CIHEAM Zaragoza has a variety of workspaces, spread across two buildings, suitable for conferences, workshops, training sessions and meetings, with a total capacity of 635 persons. You can download the spaces and facilities brochure here.
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