The CREA Congress, held every three years, is one of the most important events in Argentina’s agricultural sector. The 2025 edition brought together more than 8,000 participants and 90 speakers over two days, creating a space for reflection, learning, and networking around key challenges such as sustainability, innovation, climate change, and new production models. This year, the Agricultural Office of the Netherlands participated actively, strengthening cooperation between both countries on sustainable food production, technological innovation, and adaptation to environmental challenges.
Beeld: © AACREA
The Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola (AACREA) is a non-profit civil association made up of farmers who meet regularly to share experiences and knowledge. It brings together 2265 producers across 249 groups in 19 ecoregions, supported by more than 400 technical advisors. AACREA members work collaboratively to improve their companies’ processes at the technical, economic, and social levels, positioning themselves as leaders in innovation and sustainability. AACREA farmers also play an active role in promoting community development in the regions where they are present.
The CREA National Congress has become one of the most influential agricultural events in Argentina. This year, the participation of the Agricultural Office contributed to strengthening bilateral cooperation in innovation, sustainability, and sustainable food production.
The Netherlands and AACREA share a common vision: advancing toward sustainable, resilient agri-food systems in harmony with nature. For several years, the Agricultural Office has been working alongside AACREA on projects addressing key topics such as circular economy, biodiversity, and technological innovation in agriculture - promoting interdisciplinary collaboration between farmers and researchers, and fostering knowledge exchange between both countries as a driver of transformation.
Beeld: © LAN Cono Sur
Inbioagro: integrating biodiversity into production systems
The Congress provided a valuable opportunity to present and showcase the results achieved so far by the Inbioagro project, which the Agricultural Office has supported from its beginning.
Through its work in the Pampas and Chaco regions, Inbioagro developed practical tools for farmers, including the CREA Biodiversity Management Manual for Agroecosystems, as well as regional reports offering detailed analyses of biodiversity and recommended practices for its conservation. This project represents a collaborative model that brings together farmers, civil society organizations, and knowledge institutions such as Wageningen University & Research. The next step is for participating farms to begin implementing at least one alternative management practice that has a measurable positive impact on biodiversity. Proposed strategies include increasing plant diversity, enriching conservation areas with native species, redesigning field borders with cover crops, improving existing habitats, and restoring degraded areas.
The project also emphasizes the importance of non-productive areas, such as biological corridors, grassed roadsides, or lowlands, traditionally considered unproductive, but essential for ecological connectivity and habitat restoration without compromising profitability.
The presentation of these results reflects a growing awareness among farmers of the importance of environmental conservation. The 2025 Congress clearly demonstrated that producers are willing to implement concrete practices and make decisions that, while economically viable, also prioritize the protection of nature and biodiversity.
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Innovation and technology: towards a collaborative AgTech hub
During the Congress, the Agricultural Office also reinforced its collaboration with AACREA on innovation for sustainable and efficient farming systems. Through an interdisciplinary approach, both institutions are co-creating a platform to test and adapt Dutch technologies within the Argentine agricultural context, fostering synergies between startups, producers, and knowledge centers.
The participation of the Agricultural Office in the CREA 2025 Congress helped strengthen connections with Argentina’s agri-food ecosystem and opened new opportunities for collaboration among institutions, farmers, and companies.
Beeld: © LAN Cono Sur
As Agricultural Counsellor Lucas du Pré highlighted, "Cooperation between producers, researchers, and companies is essential to build more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food systems.
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The Agricultural Office will continue to support the development of sustainable and innovative solutions, further strengthening bilateral relations between Argentina and the Netherlands, for the benefit of production, rural communities, and the planet.
More information
Would you like to know more about the work done by the LVVN Office in Argentina and the ongoing projects the LAN Cono Sur team is involved in? You can visit the country page of Argentina. You can also send an email to the LAN team in Buenos Aires: bue-lvvn@minbuza.nl.
Beeld: © LAN Cono Sur