The Spanish fresh produce cooperative receives national recognition for best practices in sustainability, innovation and economic development
Anecoop has been awarded the Cooperative of the Year prize by Agri-food Cooperatives of Spain,
The organisation said the award recognised its solid track record in a “very significant year”, coinciding as it does with Anecoop’s 50th anniversary celebration.
The aim of the awards, held alongside the General Assembly of Agri-food Cooperatives of Spain, is to highlight and recognise best practices in agri-food cooperatives throughout Spain.
It emphasises initiatives that contribute directly to economic, social, and territorial sustainability, as well as to innovation and equal opportunities.
Anecoop’s president, Alejandro Monzón, and its CEO, Joan Mir, accepted the award from the Spanish minister of agriculture, fisheries and food Luis Planas, and the president of Agri-food Cooperatives, Ángel Villafranca.
“This recognition fills us with particular pride because it is granted by the entity that oversees Spanish agri-food cooperatives,” said Monzón.
”It is a shared award that values collective effort over individual achievements.
”It belongs to those founders who believed in the viability of this project; to all the farmers and member organisations who have trusted in our management throughout all these years; to the successive governing boards and management committees, with their dedication and strategic vision; as well as to all the professional teams, whose talent has been a fundamental pillar in driving our growth,” he noted.
Monzón emphasised that, for 50 years, Anecoop has guided and supported farmers and partner organisations to overcome the challenges posed by an increasingly complex, demanding, and uncertain global market.
”It does so by focusing on innovation: in production and quality systems, in new products, in food safety, in sustainability, in marketing and communication campaigns, in technology, and in business management,” he said.
”We have reached this point by placing farmers where they deserve to be: at the heart of the value chain,” Monzón outlined.
”Because five decades later, we still have the same resilience, courage, and ambition as on day one: to innovate, transform, enhance the prestige of agriculture, and create opportunities for those who work the land, strengthening the local economy and promoting social cohesion,” he added. ”Because together and united, we are unstoppable.”
