The CEO of Copiso, Pascual López, at the ‘II Forum on Agri-Food Cooperatives as an Economic Driver in Castile and León’, held on the 3rd in Valladolid, highlighted the logistical problem in Soria. He explained that, in view of these difficulties, and in order to guarantee marketing, Copiso has taken the most direct and secure route: buying a transport company. This is Transportes Tovar, of which it has acquired 50% of the company’s shares. Its goal is to have around 80 trucks.
In his speech, Pascual López also explained that, in recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in the relationship between companies and employees, “which is why we must focus on retaining talent, creating a good working environment, and providing flexibility in the workplace as far as possible, so that people decide not to leave and feel appreciated and valued. If we do not follow this strategy, we run the risk of them leaving,” according to Castilla y León Económica, organizer of the Forum together with Urcacyl.
The same round table, which analyzed the challenges facing agri-food cooperatives, also featured Jesús Posadas, president of Acor, and César Reales, manager of Agropal. Posadas said that sustainability is a fundamental issue for any company today and, therefore, also for cooperatives, both economically and environmentally. He stressed the importance of speaking well of the countryside. “We are never going to relocate, which is a very important point. Most of our staff live in the area where we are based,” he pointed out.
The manager of Agropal explained his commitment to oats for human consumption through the construction of a factory. In another sense, he also emphasized that one of the problems he sees in the countryside is that it is regulated from a lack of knowledge of the activity and the sector. “We are in an urban society that does not understand the rural world, and this is happening in Europe,” he said, while focusing on the fact that food sovereignty is not taken into account.
The other panel at the Forum, on how to improve the competitiveness of cooperatives, was attended by Jesús Ángel García Calvo, CEO of Garmon Ingeniería; Norberto Garrido, Director of Business Development and Operations at Cobasa (GOF Group); and Óscar Raña, Energy Efficiency Manager at Repsol. They highlighted the importance of energy efficiency through the use of multiple energy sources and the application of technological advances to make decisions based on sufficient and appropriate data (big data). They also emphasized the importance of logistics solutions, as implemented by Copiso, and the need for adequate train connections or dry storage facilities.
At the close of the conference, the regional government’s Director General of Industry and Agri-Food Chain, Cristina Frías, recalled the measures of the regional government’s Strategic Plan for Agri-Food Cooperatives 2024–27. These include financial aid for new cooperative members to pay their share capital, and increased subsidies for priority members in their first installation or improvement plans. She stated that cooperatives are “undoubtedly the economic engine of this land. There is no doubt about that. Not only do they slow down depopulation in villages, but they also generate jobs in them and contribute to training, advice, and modernization in the agricultural and livestock sector.
For his part, Fernando Antúnez, president of Urcacyl, gave a lecture entitled “International Year of Cooperatives, a key sector for Castilla and León,” in which he focused on the fact that agri-food cooperatives have a major economic, social, and environmental impact. But they are also essential for rural residents and for society as a whole, he stressed.
