According to the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, the Unica Agribusiness Centre -which will be located in the Technology Park of Almeria- will be an innovative complex that seeks the collaboration of institutions, universities, and the entire knowledge environment, making it an initiative of enormous potential for Andalusia's agri-food industry.
Moreno attended the laying of the foundation stone of this center. The center, which will cost more than 20 million, will create 400 jobs and is being financed by the 16 cooperatives integrated into UNICA.
Moreno insisted on the importance of the Science and Technology Park, PITA, hosting this project that is linked to the essence of this province and its companies. A six-hectare campus where all living forces are expected to unite and opens doors to research groups in the field of genetics to create better and more resistant varieties or to the development of technologies with the use of big data and artificial intelligence.
"All this means creating an environment of collaboration and strengthening relations with the university system and, in particular, with the University of Almería. Today, there is no better alliance than that between the leading producing sectors of Andalusia and our university R+D+i system," he added.
In this regard, he highlighted the Andalusian Government's firm commitment to R+D+i, as evidenced by the 38 new research projects for the agricultural sector that have been launched since the beginning of the legislature, with 10.4 million within the framework of IFAPA.
He also said that the Junta had declared the UAC-UNICA Center as a project of Strategic Interest for Andalusia, which has allowed it to be included in the Project Accelerator Unit, which promotes the different procedures and procedures.
"We are talking about a crucial sector for Andalusia. A cutting-edge economy, prestigious production, and an increasingly valued innovation environment have been built on this sector."