The third edition of Presura , the National Fair for the Repopulation of Rural Spain, organized by El Hueco, has been held. It brought together entrepreneurs and communities to discuss how collective progress is being made in reversing the situation in sparsely populated areas in Spain.

During these days, various groups have continued working on identifying shared needs, finding ways to resolve them collectively , and fostering alliances between people who want to develop projects and those who can help make them a reality—this is what characterizes the Presura fair. The third edition of this annual event has once again highlighted the many levers of change available to reverse rural depopulation, taking advantage of the great potential of the resources possessed by rural areas and the inhabitants who live there.

The National Rural Network (RRN) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAPA) collaborated with El Hueco in organizing this third edition of Presura, held on November 8, 9, and 10. The fairgrounds hosted 60 exhibitors from public and private stakeholders, governments, provincial councils, Local Action Groups, and entrepreneurs, to showcase their ideas and projects of social and technological innovation that they develop in rural areas. Project visibility was also made possible through the Ágora space, where social groups and enterprises had the opportunity to communicate their projects.

The program included dialogues and roundtables covering a wide variety of topics related to rural areas: social innovation, energy, smart rural territories, communication, immigration, citizen platforms, housing, film, and new educational models for rural development. In parallel, the El Hueco Starter entrepreneurship competition was also held, with a cash prize awarded to the best social and environmental ventures presented, such as the creation of a network for the LGBTI community in rural areas.

The fair was actively attended by the RRN through an exhibitor at the fairgrounds; in addition, the MAPA was present at the opening with the participation of Fernando Miranda , Secretary General of Agriculture and Food , the intervention of Carolina Gutierrez , Deputy Director General of Rural Environment Promotion , of the MAPA, in one of the dialogues and the participation of Maite Ambrós, Deputy Director of Innovation and Digitalization, of the MAPA, in the round table on smart territories,

The MAPA Rural Development Network (RRN) presented its activities, actions, and measures for rural development at the fair. The analysis of these events will soon be available in the depopulation section of the RRN website.