Spain’s agricultural diversity ranging from intensive livestock regions to high-value irrigated crops makes nutrient management a complex challenge. In this interview, our coordinator Anna Bagó Mas from Beta Technological Center reflects on how local realities, environmental regulations, and economic needs shape farming practices across the country.
What do you think are the key challenges in nutrient management within the farming sector in Spain, in your opinion?
Nutrient management in Spain is strongly influenced by the country’s structural diversity, ranging from intensive livestock production systems to high-value irrigated crops. This diversity makes it difficult to implement uniform strategies. The main challenges are balancing productivity with environmental regulations such as the Nitrates Directive and CAP eco-schemes; managing nutrient surpluses in intensive livestock regions; and ensuring that farmers have access to clear, reliable knowledge and affordable solutions that fit their local realities.
The problem is not the lack of innovation — there are many good technologies and ideas already available — but rather the difficulty of adapting and scaling them to different regional contexts. Strengthening connections between researchers, advisors, and farmers through the AKIS is key to making these innovations truly work in practice.
Could you share an example of a specific innovation from your group and explain its impact on sustainable farming practices?
One innovation we are showcasing in NUTRI-KNOW is the slurry concentration technology developed by an EIP-AGRI Operational Group in Catalonia. It separates livestock slurry into two fractions: one nutrient-rich, one diluted. This allows farmers to apply fertilisers more precisely, reduce transport costs, and decrease nitrate leaching risks. The innovation changes management practices by enabling farmers to plan nutrient applications according to crop needs and environmental restrictions, supporting both sustainability and competitiveness.
What strategies in your view are effective in balancing the economic needs of farmers with environmental sustainability goals?
We need to move beyond the idea that sustainability and profitability are opposing forces. In practice, aligning them requires a combination of incentive-based policies, peer learning, and practical demonstration of cost-benefit outcomes. Through NUTRI-KNOW, we have promoted a strong focus on the economic analysis of sustainable practices, ensuring that farmers clearly see the economic advantages of efficiency, resource recovery, and reduced input dependency. Data-driven decision tools and collaborative innovation platforms are also crucial for scaling this balance.
What feedback have you received from farmers who have implemented new technologies or practices?
Farmers appreciate innovations that are simple, adaptable, and clearly beneficial. Many report improvements in nutrient efficiency and soil quality, but what stands out is their increased confidence in data and evidence-based management. Interestingly, they also value the peer-to-peer exchanges facilitated by NUTRI-KNOW—these have proven powerful in building trust and motivation to adopt new solutions. As one farmer said during an in-service training in Catalonia: “Seeing it working in another farm makes all the difference.”
What has been a challenge in your work – and how have you dealt with it?
A major challenge has been ensuring long-term engagement from practitioners beyond the project lifespan. Many innovation projects end just as the relationships begin to mature. To address this, we embedded mechanisms for continuous feedback and co-creation—like the Community of Practice, train-the-trainer programme, and in-service trainings—which keep practitioners active and invested in the process. Building trust takes time, but it is the foundation for lasting impact.
What is one moment, insight, or result that made you proud – or surprised you?
I was particularly proud when we saw how the Results Amplification Methodology was not only understood but adopted by other projects and stakeholders. Seeing practitioners and regional networks use our tools to capitalise and share knowledge in their own contexts showed that we are creating something truly replicable. It reaffirmed my belief that the most meaningful impact comes from empowering others to use and adapt what we create.
Did you learn anything new from your work in NUTRI-KNOW in your area of expertise?
Absolutely. Coordinating NUTRI-KNOW has given me a much deeper understanding of how complex the knowledge capitalisation process really is. I’ve learned that it’s not just about collecting good practices, but about transforming fragmented experiences into structured, reusable knowledge.
Also, engaging directly with the EU CAP Network ecosystem has shown me how crucial harmonisation and dialogue are between different AKIS actors if we want to make innovation flow seamlessly from local experience to European policy. Finally, I realised that knowledge transfer is not linear—it is interactive. Farmers are not passive actors; they adapt and