June 23, 2016

On June 23, the Autonomous Community of Aragon held the Monitoring Committee meeting of the Aragon Rural Development Program.

Regarding the 2007-2013 Program , the degree of execution achieved was analyzed, which was 99.2% , and homogeneous in the four axes of the Program: 1. "Improving the Competitiveness of the Agri-Food Sector, 2. "Conservation and Improvement of the Environment", 3. Economic Diversification and Improvement of the Quality of Life" and 4. "LEADER Methodology".

The Committee approved the Program's latest annual report, which includes the most relevant statistical information on its implementation. The data collected highlights the following parameters: the participation of 20,886 students in training and transfer activities; support for 1,915 young people (566 women) entering the agricultural sector; the modernization of 5,596 farms; support for 498 agri-food industries; 225 million euros invested in agricultural infrastructure; 564,000 hectares benefiting from agri-environmental commitments; 70 million euros allocated to forest management; and 4,947 aid applications managed through the LEADER methodology.

Regarding the 2014-2020 period , the Committee analyzed the status of the Program's development during 2015, which also marked the closing year of the previous period. Regarding the new Program, activity has focused on developing the legal and technical tools for its implementation. The RDP forecasts public expenditure of €907 million, of which €12 million had been spent by the end of 2015.

The Committee approved the first amendment to the 2014-2020 RDP, which includes two new aid operations: one related to the conservation of livestock genetic resources and the other to crop areas prone to flooding due to flooding of the Ebro River.

Finally, the Committee approved the modification of the criteria for selecting operations and the amendment to its internal regulations.