On June 22, the sixth meeting of the Poplar Producers’ Association (Action C1-E1) was held in the Graduation Hall of the School of Building Engineering (Granada), chaired by the Vice President, Juan Carlos Cano, and Patricia Gómez, COSE manager, with interventions by Mª Ángeles Ripoll and other members of the Association’s Board of Directors, with approximately 30 people in attendance.

In the session, the actions carried out since the last meeting were updated and the following points were reported:

• Meeting with the Territorial Delegate of Agriculture, María José Martín and her technical team and representatives of the MARJAL Group on June 7 to promote the cultivation of poplar in these areas of agricultural use through CAP aid or other types of subsidies in order to enhance their recovery and compensate for their environmental benefits.
• Meeting with the technical team of PEFC SPAIN and the Board of Directors of MARJAL to begin to take the first steps in Group Forest Certification with a view to the valorization of poplar wood in the markets.
• To plan the first MARJAL timber auction for September.
• And finally, a review was made of the reports and numerous media presence that the Group and the project are having, reaching a great impact on public opinion through the press, radio, TV and RRSS.

It concluded with a short-term roadmap that includes, among other matters, the application for the Group’s Tax Identification Number (CIF) to the AEAT, the construction of the MARJAL website, the organization of the lots for the Group’s first poplar auction, the holding of training workshops on the forestry itinerary and good environmental practices for poplar cultivation of the LIFE Wood For FUTURE project and the start of the development of the Joint Management Plan. It is also planned to hold the official presentation of the MARJAL Grouping at the end of the summer.

This was the last meeting before the summer break and the meetings will be resumed in September to continue with the established deadlines.