Interview with Javier Alonso, President of AETC
What does your association do?
The Spanish Association of Cereal Technicians (AETC) is a non-profit association whose main purpose is the promotion, study and support of all scientific and technical research activities on cereals and their derivatives. The AETC participates in and promotes activities of interest to operators in the cereal value chain, organising conferences and courses that can provide technical and training support for its members, other scientists and technicians and related institutions.
What is your role in the Life Innocereal project? What is your role?
The Spanish Association of Cereal Technicians (AETC) is responsible for planning the development of the certification process for low-emission cereals and the contracts associated with the different links in the cereal chain to ensure a stable supply, with traceability and a correct distribution of the price increase of the products to be sold along the entire value chain.
In addition, AETC will collaborate with its scientific and technical expertise in helping other project partners to characterise the different cereal producing regions of the European Union in order to design good practice actions that will take place in the demonstration areas of the project. It will also help other partners in the design of a GAP Manual for cereals by climatic zones.
Similarly, AETC will assist other partners in the transfer of knowledge and dissemination of project results and good practices by means of dissemination material, based on information provided by consortium members.
In the final stretch of the project, AETC will present a draft ‘After-LIFE Conservation Plan’, in order to present the positive impact generated by the project’s actions and to illustrate the strategic plan for replication and dissemination of the results after the end of the project.
As a partner, what are your objectives within the project?
AETC aims to improve cereal production processes and, to this end, will contribute its experience and knowledge in the development of the European LIFE Innocereal project, whose objective is the implementation of sustainable practices for the reduction of the carbon footprint.
To this end, the association will disseminate the results and conclusions obtained, in order to involve both end-users and the wide range of external stakeholders in the project.
What methods/tools will you make available to Life Innocereal?
On the one hand, the AETC maintains a close relationship with members of all areas of the cereal sector, which will mean that the activities and results carried out by the partners of the European LIFE Innocereal project will reach all the links in the value chain. Relationships ranging from personalities linked to genetic research and varietal improvement, cooperatives, farmers, processors and flour manufacturers, public and private control and analysis laboratories, users of flours and derivatives, semolina and malt millers, brewers, pasta manufacturers, service companies and consumers.
In addition, the AETC organises annual Technical Conferences in which various renowned speakers analyse the future challenges facing the sector. Through these conferences, the AETC will also disseminate the project among the attendees.
On the other hand, the experience of the AETC through its Working Groups will support the certification process of low emission cereals and the development of the project’s good practice manual.
Finally, why did you decide to join Life Innocereal?
The main reason why we are joining the European Life Innocereal project is that we at AETC consider that this initiative is part of the lines of action that have been carried out by the association in terms of sustainability and good practices in the cereal sector.