AIRA highlights the value of its 300 employees as a fundamental part of the great AIRA Tribe, which is also made up of the more than 3,000 members of the Cooperative.
The cooperative AIRA celebrated this Friday the second Meeting of workers under the slogan AIRA, xuntos de raíz, in the hotel Finca Quinteliña, in Chantada. In this way, the agri-food cooperative put the focus on the roots that sustain it and link it to the territory. At the same time, it also claimed the power of cooperation and the effort of AIRA’s team of professionals, who are an essential part of the great ‘AIRA Tribe’.
“Xuntos de raíz” is much more than a phrase. It defines what we are and what we want to continue to be: a tribe. In a tribe, everyone matters. Every person counts. There are no small parts or secondary roles here. The work of each one is fundamental for the whole to work. AIRA is much more than a Cooperative, AIRA is a great tribe formed by cattlemen, farmers, workers and technicians, who share a clear objective: to strengthen our sector, protect our livelihood and guarantee the future of the next generations in the Galician countryside”, says Cándido Cancelo, General Director of AIRA, in a clear declaration of intentions regarding the future of the Cooperative in the coming years.
AIRA, a benchmark agri-food cooperative
At the meeting, which was attended by nearly 300 workers who make up AIRA, Cancelo stressed that AIRA has become an agri-food cooperative of reference in northwestern Spain, leading the evolution of the sector with a sustainable and people-centered model.
“The agri-food sector is facing complex challenges, such as digitalization, the demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly products, the need to attract and retain young talent… But the challenge is not only to adapt, the real challenge is to evolve without losing our essence. To modernize the cooperative, improve processes, be more efficient and innovative, without ever ceasing to be what we are: a cooperative of people, of members, of families, of workers committed to their work and to the land”, Cancelo points out.
Change of AIRA’s board of directors
The Meeting of workers also served as an official presentation to all AIRA’s staff of the new General Manager of the Cooperative, Cándido Cancelo, who took over at the beginning of the year, after the retirement of Daniel Ferreiro. It was Ferreiro himself, who continues to collaborate significantly with the Cooperative during these first months of Cándido’s incorporation, who made his presentation to the staff.
Ferreiro also made a journey through the trajectory of AIRA, from the first steps of those 30 relevant cooperatives that began to work together in 2005 to give rise to the merger in 2018 as well as the projects that allowed AIRA to be today a reference agri-food cooperative. Ferreiro thanked all the colleagues for their collaboration and the moments lived throughout these more than 20 years linked to the Cooperative.
Also the Conselleira de Medio Rural, María José Gómez, highlighted, through a short video, the relevant role of AIRA as the engine of the Galician countryside. “You are fundamental to ensure a rural sustainable from all points of view. Congratulations for your effort, commitment to the rural environment and for your work,” said Gómez.
The meeting of workers was a day of fellowship and strengthening among the AIRA team with training dynamics that occupied a good part of the day. In addition to other special greetings, such as that of the presenter of Televisión de Galicia, Xosé Ramón Gayoso.
