La Burlada Cultural Center This Friday, the Council of the Council's awards ceremony was held at the venue. Organic Agricultural Production From Navarre (CPAEN/NNPEK), a now well-established event on the calendar of the organic sector in the region. Around fifty people gathered for a simple ceremony, but one with great symbolic significance for those who have been promoting an alternative agricultural model for years.
In this edition of the Awards from the Council for Organic Production of Navarre Two very different trajectories have been identified, but with a common thread: the compromise with sustainability and social justice. On the one hand, Juan Simón, a farmer from Monteagudo, has been recognized with the “Lifetime Achievement” award; on the other, ASPACE Navarra has received the “Collaborating Entity” award for its joint work with the Council on inclusion and solidarity projects linked to organic production.
An event in Burlada to recognize commitment and journey
The event was presided over by María José ArrondoThe president of CPAEN/NNPEK, who acted as master of ceremonies during the awards ceremony, highlighted the historical trajectory of the organic sector in Navarre and the role of social organizations that have embraced this way of producing and consuming.
Arrondo recalled that, when the first steps of the organic farming in NavarreThere was hardly any structure or institutional support back then, and today the council brings together nearly eight hundred certified individuals and operating companies in the community. This evolution, he emphasized, is largely due to the efforts of pioneers like Juan Simón and the involvement of organizations that link ecology and inclusion, such as ASPACE.
During the ceremony, attendees were able to learn firsthand the stories behind the awards. The recognition was not conceived merely as a formal tribute, but as an opportunity to to promote family, organic and local farming in the face of a context increasingly dominated by industrialization and business concentration.
The Council President has emphasized that these awards are intended as a collective expression of gratitude to those who, for decades or through more recent projects, demonstrate that it is possible to combine sustainable agricultural production, social commitment and solidarityThe celebration at the Burlada Cultural Center, open to the public, has also served to bring these experiences closer to the citizens.
Juan Simón, pioneer of organic farming, Lifetime Achievement Award
El “Lifetime Achievement” Award The award has gone to Juan Simón, a farmer from Monteagudo, considered one of the pioneers of organic production in the Navarre region. His career dates back to the early 1990s, when he was still working in conventional agriculture alongside his father and the term "organic" was barely known in the Navarrese countryside.
Upon taking over the family farm, Simón decided to change the way they produced and begin the transition to the ecological modelHe did so with the support of his family and the backing of the Biolur association, which was key to promoting organic farming in Navarre during those years. It wasn't just about changing techniques, but about committing to a different way of understanding the relationship with the land and the market.
In 1996, he became one of the first operators certified by CPAEN, when the sector was just getting started and many people saw organic farming as a risky venture. Even before the creation of the Navarre Council itself, Simón had already obtained certification through the CRAE (Regulatory Council for Organic Agriculture), the state agency that regulated this type of production at the time.
Today, several decades later, organic farming in Navarre has grown to include hundreds of producers, livestock farmers, and processing companies, but the Council believes that Simón's career embodies the efforts of an entire generation. For this reason, his colleagues in the sector wanted to publicly thank him. life dedicated to organic farming, now recognized with this award.
The award winner was unable to attend the ceremony in person and delegated his representation to his friend Joaquín Cabodevilla, a livestock farmer from Olóriz, who read a letter of thanks. In it, Simón reminisced about his early days with Biolur and the Trigo Limpio cooperative, another pioneering initiative in organic production. He also took the opportunity to deliver a clear message in defense of the family and traditional farming, warning about the advance of lobbies and investment funds in the agricultural sector and the risk this poses to the ecological model they have defended for years.
ASPACE Navarra, awarded “Collaborating Entity” for combining inclusion and ecology
The second major protagonist of the day has been ASPACE Navarra, distinguished with the “Collaborating Entity” award. This organization, dedicated to working with people with cerebral palsy, has developed several joint projects in recent years with CPAEN/NNPEK that combine organic farming, social action and active participation of the users.
The director of the ASPACE Occupational Center, Yolanda SanzShe was in charge of accepting the award, accompanied by a large delegation from the Aspace Press center in Pamplona and the Uxane center in Bera. Her presence at the Burlada Cultural Center put a face to a collaboration that, according to the organization itself, goes far beyond one-off activities.
The relationship between ASPACE and the Council for Organic Agricultural Production of Navarre began in 2024 with a very specific initiative: a organic tomato harvest day in LodosaThe event, organized with the help of Conservas Pedro Luis and the Lodosa Town Council, aimed to use the tomatoes to make preserves for the Food Bank, combining support for the organic sector with solidarity.
The experience was so positive that it was repeated in 2025, this time with the collection of organic pumpkins that were donated to the Paris 365 soup kitchen. Both actions have allowed the people of ASPACE to participate directly in solidarity projects linked to the primary sectorand the collaboration is expected to continue in 2026 along the same lines.
But the relationship between CPAEN and ASPACE is not limited to the field. In 2025, the Council proposed to the group that a user group be formed as food critics to visit different restaurants in the Navarre Sustainable Restaurant Network. Their task consisted of tasting pintxos and dishes made with organic products, sharing their opinions on social media, and also evaluating the accessibility of the establishments they visited.
This experience, which will be repeated this year, has served to highlight the active participation of people with cerebral palsy, who go from being mere recipients of services to becoming agents who give opinions, make recommendations, and They provide criteria on sustainability and accessibility.According to ASPACE, these types of projects help change social perceptions, demonstrating that people with disabilities not only participate, but also generate value and contribute significantly to the community.
In her speech, Yolanda Sanz defined the award as the result of a real and transformative collaboration between ASPACE Navarra and CPAEN/NNPEK. It has been highlighted that shared initiatives make visible an inclusion built on practice and collaborative work, integrating sustainability, the primary sector, ecology, and social commitment within a common vision. For the organization, this recognition is a shared achievement that reinforces the idea that another way of doing things in the social and agricultural spheres is possible.
The day in Burlada has made it clear that the Awards from the Council for Organic Production of Navarre They don't just hand out awards; they seek to highlight a development model based on organic farming, the defense of family farms, and partnerships with social inclusion projects. Stories like those of Juan Simón and ASPACE Navarra show how, in the context of Spain and, more generally, Europe, ecological transition of the primary sector It can go hand in hand with social participation and solidarity, building a fairer, more sustainable and cohesive rural and urban fabric.
