The LEADER award expands its jury to include agricultural organizations and cooperatives

The Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, and Environmental Policy has rewritten Article 7 of the regulatory bases for the “LEADER of Castilla y León” award to allow professional agricultural organizations and the most representative agri-food cooperative entity to join the Jury. The decision is formalized in Order AGR/1117/2026, of October 27, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León (BOCYL) number 210, of October 29, 2026, within section I.C of regulatory bases. The regulation comes into force on October 30, the day after its publication, and bears the signature of the regional minister Joaquín Antonio Pino.

Two specific modifications to the evaluation body

The change is limited to Article 7 of Order AGR/621/2024, of June 13, which created the award and established its bases; that order was published in the BOCYL on June 24, 2024, and had already been amended by Order AGR/422/2026, of May 8. The new text adds two blocks of members to the body responsible for evaluating and deciding the awards:

• One representative from each of the most representative Professional Agricultural Organizations (OPAs) of the sector in the Community.
• One representative from the most representative agri-food cooperative association at the regional level, a role that the statement of reasons attributes to the Regional Union of Agri-food Cooperatives of Castilla y León (URCACYL).

The preamble justifies the reform based on the LEADER methodology itself, which is based on a bottom-up approach and participatory governance, and maintains that the composition of the evaluation bodies must reflect “the plurality and representativeness of the sectors that coexist and transform the rural environment.” It adds that the primary sector and its processing and marketing are the “basic structural support” of the region’s rural economy.

Full composition of the Jury

With the approved wording, the Jury is composed of the following members:

• Chairmanship: the head of the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development and Environmental Policy or their delegate.
• Members: the head of the General Directorate of Industry and the Agri-food Chain or their delegate.
• A representative of the Castilla y León Integral Rural Promotion Federation «PRINCAL».
• A representative of the «HUEBRA» Rural Initiatives Association.
• A representative of the Castilla y León Rural Development Network «RURAL RED».
• One representative from each of the most representative POs and one representative from the most representative association of agri-food cooperatives.
• A person of recognized prestige or an expert in the field of communication.
• A representative of the EU in Spain.
• A representative of the Economic and Social Council of Castilla y León.
• A representative of the PEPAC Network of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
• Secretariat: an official from the Rural Diversification Initiatives Service, attached to the General Directorate of Industry and the Agri-food Chain, with a voice but no vote.

Majority, tie-breaking and legal framework

The modified article maintains that the chair organizes and directs the deliberations and voting, and that decisions are adopted by a majority of votes, with a casting vote for the president in the event of a tie. For matters not provided for, the procedure refers to Chapter IV of Title V of Law 3/2001, of July 3, on the Government and Administration of the Community of Castilla y León, and to subsection 1 of section 3 of chapter II of the preliminary title of Law 40/2015, of October 1, on the legal regime of the public sector.

The order is issued under article 26.1.f) of Law 3/2001. The text also links the new composition with the goals of economic diversification, competitiveness, and cooperation of the CAP Strategic Plan (PEPAC), and emphasizes that POs represent the socioeconomic interests of agricultural and family farms, while URCACYL plays a coordinating role in the industrial, agricultural, and social fabric of the rural environment.

The award was created to recognize initiatives, projects, and personal or professional trajectories funded under the LEADER intervention that have contributed significantly to the development of rural areas, their growth and revitalization, and to improving the living conditions of the rural population in its economic, sociocultural, and environmental dimensions. With this reform, agricultural organizations and cooperatives move from being beneficiaries and collaborators of the program to having a voice and vote in the body that decides the awards, which directly affects local action groups and project promoters applying for the calls.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 210, October 29, 2026, section I.C (Regulatory Bases), pages 348-350 (official reference: BOCYL-D-29102026-210-18).