On December 19, the new Delegate of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Celia Santiago Buendía, and her technical team, received a delegation from Agrupación Marjal and LIFE Wood for Future, as well as the Director of IFAPA-Camino del Purchil, María Ángeles Álvarez. During the two-hour meeting, the following topics of great interest for the poplar sector were discussed:

-The different lines of regional Rural Development Intervention of Andalusia, within the new CAP, were analyzed. It was noted that poplar cultivation fits perfectly in many interventions to receive aid.

-A roadmap was established for the inclusion of poplar in the CAP, which would begin with a joint meeting between Agriculture and Environment, to clarify aspects related to the duality of the crop as agricultural and forestry, in synergy with the commission for the development of the forestry itinerary and management plans for poplar in Andalusia, which is already working within the General Secretariat of Forestry Policy of the Ministry of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy.

-The need was raised for the IFAPA-Granada to house and safeguard a field of certified poplar mother stocks of the different timber clones, as is done in other autonomous communities such as Castilla-León, to guarantee the certified plant for local nurseries in the future.

-The Delegate learned, from Patricia Gomez of COSE and Antolino Gallego of the University of Granada, the objectives and lines of action of the LIFE Wood for Future project. Celia Santiago described the project as an enormous opportunity for modernization and professionalization, as well as for the generation of a new industrial ecosystem for the use of poplar wood for construction, a use it already had in the past.