Author: Pablo Palencia Garrido-Lestache

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Geographical Indications as One Health Instruments

Integrating Results-Based Environmental Payments into the EU Quality Framework

By Pablo Palencia 

Pablo Palencia is a veterinarian and consultant with over 25 years of experience in One Health and agrifood strategy. He served as the Regional Minister for Rural Development, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food in Cantabria, Spain. Throughout his career, he has led the development of strategic projects for cooperatives and the establishment of PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) frameworks, focusing on integrating living heritage and ecosystem services into legal structures to ensure the resilience of livestock production systems.  info@iberap.com

European Geographical Indications (GIs), including Protected Geographical Indications (PGIs), were originally designed to protect product names, prevent imitation and reinforce rural value creation. Today, however, they sit at the intersection of trade policy, sustainability, public health and territorial resilience.

GIs are no longer only internal EU tools. They are already embedded in international trade diplomacy. They are explicitly negotiated in the EU–Mercosur agreement and EU–India trade discussions.… Read the rest

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Beyond the CAP: Recognising Living Heritage for Generational Renewal

A new structural framework for rural resilience and global competitiveness in the face of the Mercosur challenge

By Pablo Palencia Garrido-Lestache

Pablo Palencia Garrido-Lestache is a veterinarian and consultant with over 25 years of experience in One Health and agrifood strategy. He served as the Regional Minister for Rural Development, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food in Cantabria, Spain. Throughout his career, he has led the development of strategic projects for cooperatives and the establishment of PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) frameworks, focusing on integrating living heritage and ecosystem services into legal structures to ensure the resilience of livestock production systems. info@iberap.com

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Europe faces a silent but structural crisis in agriculture: generational renewal is failing. Across many EU regions, more than half of farm holders are over 55, while only a small fraction of young people enters the sector. In many rural areas, when a farmer retires, the farm simply disappears.

For decades, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been the backbone of European agriculture.… Read the rest