Isabel García Tejerina today presented the beneficiary projects of the 2017 call for subsidies of the Empleaverde Programme.

The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment, Isabel García Tejerina, today presented the beneficiary projects of the 2017 call for subsidies of the Empleaverde Programme, endowed with a budget of 7.7 million euros, and whose objective is to promote initiatives that promote employment and the green economy. The Minister, In addition, he has presented the new call for subsidies for this year, to which 8.9 million euros will be allocated. In total, the Ministry plans to allocate 68 million euros until 2023 to support green employment through the Empleaverde Programme.

García Tejerina stressed that “in this Ministry we address various matters and implement policies whose main reason for being is to promote the competitiveness of our economy, creating employment and caring for and protecting the environment. The Empleaverde Programme is one of our initiatives to achieve this” and has exemplified these policies with this Programme, which only with its 2017 call will allow the creation of 500 jobs and the training of 14,000 people.

During the event, the minister signed her commitment to employment and green entrepreneurship together with representatives of the 69 beneficiary projects of the 2017 call for subsidies, in which 62 entities have been awarded. Isabel García Tejerina has signed the Ministry’s commitment to “promote the Empleaverde Programme with the aim of creating 4,800 jobs, training 24,000 workers and supporting 3,000 companies and thus, together, take care of our environment and promote a circular, sustainable and low-emission economy”.

The projects that are launched have an impact on agriculture, with initiatives focused on ecological and sustainable agriculture and livestock, on specific crops such as citrus fruits, apple trees or chestnut trees and forest management. Fisheries and aquaculture are also present, as well as projects related to the marine environment that fight against litter at sea, or linked to the blue economy, for example, to promote sustainable coastal tourism, improve port management or conserve coastal salt flats.

Food and the agri-food sector also play a prominent role and projects will be developed aimed at restaurants, fishmongers or establishments for the preparation, distribution and sale of organic products.

There are also projects linked to the environment and related economic sectors. Thus, initiatives linked to energy saving and efficiency, sustainable transport and mobility, renewable energies, waste management and the development of the circular economy will be developed. Many of them have an impact on rural areas, depopulated areas and protected natural areas.

The minister placed special emphasis on the figures of the Empleaverde Programme, which in the previous period committed 45 million euros and managed to support more than 300 projects, collaborate with 500 organisations and reach 1,300,000 recipients, creating 2,600 companies and lines of business in economic sectors linked to the environment.

“Fortunately, this work does not stop here,” stressed the minister, “it is only one of the calls, which this Ministry will launch annually within the framework of the Empleaverde Program until 2023.” In total, this Programme plans to allocate 68 million euros until that year with the aim of supporting more than 50,000 recipients and 3,000 companies and training 24,000 people.

Of the 68 million euros, more than 10 million will be used to promote the blue economy. Thus, it is intended to create 600 jobs and support 400 companies, as well as train more than 3,200 people linked to the sea. All this to highlight the potential offered by the marine Natura 2000 Network of which, as the Minister has highlighted, “we should be especially proud in Spain”.