The 2nd meeting of the EU CAP Network Focus Group “Innovative and sustainable ways to strengthen the role of farmers in revitalising the EU wool value chain” was held in Aranjuez, Spain, gathering experts from across Europe to discuss the future of the European wool sector.
The Institute for Animal Husbandry was represented by Bogdan Cekić , who presented the Mini Paper “State of the art of the wool value chain in Europe”. The presentation addressed key structural challenges of the European wool sector, including fragmentation of the value chain, declining processing infrastructure, traceability, market transparency and opportunities for innovative wool applications.
During the meeting, experts discussed:
• strengthening the role of farmers in the wool value chain
• improving wool quality and value distribution
• innovative and sustainable uses of wool within the circular bioeconomy
• generational renewal in sheep farming
• development of EIP-AGRI Operational Group ideas and future innovation actions
Particular emphasis was placed on stronger cooperation between farmers, researchers, industry and policy makers, as well as on the importance of regional initiatives and local wool processing systems.
The programme also included a field visit to the Wooldreamers initiative in Spain, where participants followed the wool journey from raw material to final yarn production, with a focus on sustainability, traceability and territorial value.
Photo: EU CAP NETWORK and focus group members
