FUNDACION CAJAMAR

Their core work

Fundación Cajamar is a Spanish research foundation based in Almería, operating at the intersection of agriculture, digital innovation, and circular economy. They focus on improving farming practices through precision agriculture tools, sustainable water management in fertigation, and crop protection methodologies. Their work increasingly bridges agrifood production with circular economy approaches, particularly around upcycling agricultural residues and reducing plastic waste in the sector.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 work (2016-2018) focused on core agricultural challenges — sustainable water management and digital social innovation in farming. From 2020 onward, their focus broadened significantly toward circular economy applications in agrifood, including waste upcycling, plastics recycling, and territorial systemic solutions. This shift suggests a deliberate move from improving farming inputs (water, digital tools) to addressing farming outputs (waste, residues, environmental footprint).

Moving from pure precision agriculture toward circular economy and waste valorisation in the agrifood chain — a strong fit for upcoming Horizon Europe calls on sustainable food systems.

How they like to work

Fundación Cajamar operates exclusively as a consortium participant, never as coordinator, which suggests they contribute domain expertise rather than project management capacity. With 121 unique partners across 25 countries in just 4 projects, they consistently join large, pan-European consortia (averaging 30+ partners per project). This makes them an accessible, low-friction partner — experienced in multi-country collaboration but not seeking to lead.

Despite only 4 projects, they have built a remarkably wide network of 121 partners across 25 countries, reflecting participation in large CSA-type coordination actions. Their geographic reach spans most of the EU, with no strong concentration in a single region.

What sets them apart

Based in Almería — one of Europe's most intensive greenhouse agriculture regions — Fundación Cajamar brings real-world proximity to Mediterranean horticulture challenges that few research centres can match. Their combination of precision agriculture expertise with emerging circular economy capabilities makes them especially relevant for projects addressing the full agrifood value chain. As a foundation linked to a banking group, they also bring a practical, business-oriented perspective uncommon among purely academic research centres.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FAIRshare
  Largest EC contribution (EUR 194,185) and longest duration (2018-2023), focused on building a shared ecosystem of digital farm advisory tools across Europe.
• Agro2Circular
  Most recent project (2021-2025) and a strategic pivot — marks their entry into circular economy and waste upcycling, signalling their future direction.