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Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Information on the functions of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and its related or dependent public agencies.

Functions

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is the competent department within the General State Administration for the proposal and implementation of the Government’s policy on agricultural, livestock and fisheries resources, the agri-food industry, rural development and food.

It is the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, within the scope of the State’s competences, to draft State legislation on agricultural, fisheries and food matters; to propose and implement the Government’s general guidelines on agricultural, fisheries and food policy; to represent the State in the international bodies corresponding to these matters, without prejudice to the competences of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation; as well as to coordinate actions, cooperation and concertation in the design and implementation of all policies that affect the scope of competences of the autonomous communities and the other public administrations, promoting their participation through appropriate instruments.

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  1. The exercise of the functions assigned to the Ministry in the areas of agricultural production and markets, livestock farming, concentration of supply, animal and plant health, as well as the planning, direction and coordination of the active policies of the Department in the areas of innovation, rural development, industries and food markets.
  2. The determination of the criteria that allow the establishment of the Spanish position before the European Union and in its agreements with third countries that have agricultural and food content, without prejudice to the competences of other ministerial departments.
  3. Institutional relations with professional organizations and other entities representative of the agrarian and food sectors, without prejudice to the competences of the Department’s Undersecretariat, and the determination of the criteria that allow to establish the Spanish position before the European Union and other international organizations and forums in the matters of competence of the General Secretariat. Likewise, it is responsible for the promotion of studies and sectoral advertising campaigns.
  4. The functional tutelage of the state-owned commercial companies MERCASA, S.M.E., and CETARSA, S.M.E., as well as the coordination of institutional relations and the Department’s action in relation to these.
  5. The issuing of technical reports on the regulated professions of agricultural engineers, agricultural technical engineers and oenologists, both for the purpose of recognising the professional qualifications to be effective at European Union level and of defining the professional profiles and functions reserved for professional practice.

  1. The General Secretariat for Fisheries, under the senior management of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, is responsible for exercising the Department's own competences in the planning and implementation of the policy on maritime fisheries in external waters and aquaculture, for basic management of the fisheries sector, for the management and coordination of Community funds for fisheries and aquaculture, for the bases of the marketing and processing of fisheries products, and for participating in the planning of the research policy on fisheries and aquaculture. It is also responsible for institutional relations with professional organizations and other representative entities of interest in the fisheries sector, without prejudice to the competences of the Department’s Undersecretariat.

    It shall also exercise the functions relating to the European Union’s fisheries agreements with third countries, those arising from the participation of the Kingdom of Spain, on its own or within the European Union delegation, in international fisheries organisations and international cooperation in fisheries and aquaculture matters in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. It is also responsible for determining the Spanish position before the European Union in the matters referred to and the planning, coordination and management of the Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP).

  2. The head of the General Secretariat for Fisheries will chair the Advisory Committee on the Fisheries Sector and the Sectoral Fisheries Commission.

  1. To assist the Minister in the functions of monitoring the activity of the Department, carrying out those that allow to evaluate the operation, effectiveness and performance of the staff and services of the Ministry, as well as the monitoring of the contracting of public works of competence of the Department in its technical, functional and administrative aspects. All this, without prejudice to the powers of the General Intervention of the State Administration.
  2. Assist the Minister in the preparation of sectoral conferences related to the Department ' s own competencies.
  3. Maintain institutional relations with professional organizations and other representative entities of interest in the agricultural, food and fishing sectors, without prejudice to the competences of the Secretariats General, as well as chairing the liquidating commission of the former National Confederation of Agrarian Chambers.
  4. The coordination, monitoring and reporting of matters submitted to the Government Delegated Commission for Economic Affairs and other Government Delegated Commissions.
  5. Coordination and analysis for the implementation of measures for exceptional situations in the agri-food sectors that imply the need to establish actions of a financial, labor or fiscal nature.
  6. The preparation of reports on the analysis and monitoring of those fiscal measures that have an impact on the Department’s areas of competence, and the preparation of the annual proposal for the drafting of the indices of net performance of agricultural activities in the method of objective estimation of Personal Income Tax, for transmission to the Ministry of Finance.
  7. The management of the Permanent Commission on Climatic and Environmental Adversities (COPAC), in accordance with the provisions of Order AAA/2272/2013, of November 27, which establishes the Permanent Commission for situations of climatic or environmental adversity; as well as the dialogue with other Ministries and especially the General Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergencies of the Ministry of the Interior, in the face of climatic adversities that may affect the agri-food sector.
  8. Monitoring, analysis and foresight of the social, economic and environmental aspects linked to the different strategic areas of the Department, including the creation and dissemination of information related to them.
  9. The definition of the multiannual guidelines that guide the studies of the Department, according to the lines of political strategy, as well as coordinating the Study Program of the Department, as established by Order ARM/3064/2010, of 26 November, which regulates the conduct of studies and creates the Advisory Committee of the Study Plan, in addition to contributing to its dissemination.
  10. The coordination of the functional areas and dependencies of the Department integrated in the Government Delegations, without prejudice to the functional dependency provided respectively in articles 2.7 and 7.5 of this royal decree.
  11. The realization and coordination, where appropriate, of the statistical operations of the sectoral plans and those assigned to the Department in the National Statistical Plan.
  12. The elaboration and analysis of the statistical information contained in the departmental databases.
  13. The programming and development of general statistics describing the activity of the Department, as well as the coordination of its statistical sources.
  14. The coordination of the policies of the Ministry that include two or more competences of the General Secretariats.
  15. The functional guardianship of the companies TRAGSA, S.A., S.M.E., M.P. and SAECA, S.A., S.M.E, M.P., and the coordination of the institutional relations and the action of the Department in relation to these as Ministry of guardianship.
  16. The resolution of the procedures for the recognition of professional qualifications issued by the Member States of the European Union and other signatory States of the Agreement on the European Economic Area in relation to the professions related to the Department, in accordance with the specific regulations in the matter.
  17. Assistance to the other bodies of the Ministry in the preparation of the Councils of Ministers of the European Union; the control of the procedures related to the application of the European Union regulations, as well as the monitoring of their transposition into domestic law, in collaboration with the units responsible for the elaboration of regulations and competent by reason of matter.
  18. Assistance to the other bodies of the Ministry in matters of international relations and external action; coordination, participation and follow-up, as appropriate, of the presence and initiatives of the Department and its autonomous bodies in the international agencies and conventions in matters of competence of the Department; representation of the Department in the interministerial commissions or bodies in matters of international relations, when such representation has not been attributed to another body of the Department; and coordination of the actions of the bodies of the Ministry abroad.
  19. The coordination, programming and follow-up of development cooperation initiatives, as well as the elaboration, processing and follow-up of bilateral agreements with other States or international organizations, within the competence of the Department and its autonomous bodies.
  20. Monitoring of the agreements signed by the European Union with third countries or international organizations that include agri-food and fishing matters, in collaboration with the competent units of the Ministry and with other ministerial departments.
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Regulations

  • Royal Decree 430/2020, of 3 Marchwhich develops the basic organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and which amends Royal Decree 139/2020, of 28 January, establishing the basic organizational structure of ministerial departments.BOE 06/03/2020 (consolidated version that includes the subsequent modifications).
  • See the Rules of Application.

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Organic structure (organigram)

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