Pamplona (Navarra) – At the former bus station Geltoki hosted the second edition of TerritorioCOOP on Saturday, 26 September 2026. The fair showcases products from Navarra’s agricultural cooperatives and explains to the public what cooperativismo agrario contributes to agriculture and livestock farming in the Comunidad Foral. Visitors could learn about cultivation, processing and direct marketing, and sample regional products.
The opening was attended by Esther Burgui as president of the Unión de Cooperativas Agroalimentarias de Navarra and Ignacio Terés of Caja Rural de Navarra. The regional government was represented by Carmen Maeztu, Minister for Social Rights, Social Economy and Employment, and the Minister for Agriculture, José María Aierdi was present. Aierdi highlighted the long-established roots of cooperative structures in Navarra and called for reliable support so that cooperatives can safeguard a sustainable, family-run production model and be well prepared for the forthcoming negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy 2028–2034.
Maeztu referred to the framework, updated in April, MEICAN 2025-2027 for integrating and strengthening agricultural cooperatives. Its aims include improved profitability, stable, quality-focused employment and greater equality in the sector. Exhibitors stressed that cooperatives keep value creation in local communities, stabilise incomes in rural areas and enable investment in processing and marketing that individual businesses could not manage alone.
TerritorioCOOP combines market stalls and demonstrations with information about the cooperative model. According to the organisers, the fair aims to make production processes more transparent and facilitate dialogue between public authorities, associations and producers. The focus is on regional value chains – from wine, grain and vegetables to dairy products and olive oil. Alongside direct sales, working methods and quality standards are explained, for example in relation to variety selection, soil and water management, and cooperation within the supply chain.
Observers place the event within a broader debate about the competitiveness and climate adaptation of European agriculture. For Navarra, the question is how cooperatives, working with the regional government, can pool investment, marketing and training to retain small and medium-sized businesses. TerritorioCOOP is both a showcase and a testing ground: it is aimed explicitly at audiences in Pamplona and the surrounding area who know the products but rarely get to see how they are made.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).