• The National Rural Network is transformed into the "CAP Network", combining the synergies of the agricultural sector and rural development following the integration of regional and supra-regional rural development interventions and support measures for the agricultural pillar into Spain's Strategic Plan for the CAP (PEPAC 2023-2027).
• Huesca is the setting where the different agents of the sector meet to learn about all the topics covered by the new Network and to define the activities for the new period.

The new Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027, which came into force on 1 January 2023, integrates for the first time into a single plan the rural development initiatives of the 17 autonomous communities, as well as the supra-regional measures that in previous periods were included in the 18 Rural Development Programmes. As a result, the National Rural Network (NRN) has been transformed into the CAP Network , bringing together both the agricultural policies of the first pillar and the rural development policies of the second pillar under a single umbrella.

However, despite a name change and an expansion of the work topics to the first pillar, the new PAC Network's work will be similar to what it has done so far.

On the occasion of the launch of the new PAC Network, aday has been organized presentation in Huesca on May 11 and 12, to which all stakeholders in the agricultural and rural sector are invited to define the activities to be carried out by the Network in the period 2023-2027.

Objectives of the day

The purpose of this event is to present the new features of the new Network and its Territorial Antennas team . At the same time, with the goal of addressing and listening to the needs of all sectors and territories, various participatory work dynamics will be held among attendees to improve the development of PAC Network activities in rural areas. Three parallel roundtables will also be held, where topics such as:

• The digital notebook.
• Support for women in the new PEPAC 2023-2027.
• Agri-food innovation .

The event will take place over two days :

• The first will present the CAP Network and identify the needs and proposals of stakeholders in the Aragonese region to define the activities to be carried out by the CAP Network during the 2023-2027 period.
• On the second day, projects in the area will be visited.

You can consult the meeting program here .

New themes

The new PAC Network is structured around 7 new themes:

1. Resilience and competitiveness
2. Quality and food chain
3. Rural revitalization (includes LEADER approach)
4. Women
5. Climate change and natural resource management
6. Biodiversity and landscape
7. Innovation

The main objective of the event, in addition to introducing the Network, will be to identify needs and propose specific activities to be included in the CAP Network's Action Plan for the upcoming 23-27 period. Hence the importance of meeting with all stakeholders in the sector to gather information about their needs and what activities they expect from the CAP Network to boost their territories and business niches.