José Luis Llerena Ruiz, PhD in Agricultural Engineering and Director of the National Agrifood Technology Centre (CTAEX), has dedicated much of his professional career to promoting research, innovation and technology transfer within the processing tomato sector, making a significant contribution to strengthening one of Extremadura’s most strategic crops and Spain’s tomato processing industry.
His involvement with the sector began early in his career, following his work with the Tomato Board (Mesa del Tomate), and was firmly established when he joined CTAEX in 2003 as Director of the Office for the Transfer of Research Results (OTRI). Since becoming Director of CTAEX in 2015, he has promoted a strategy focused on bringing research closer to the real needs of the sector, fostering collaboration among companies, growers, universities and national and international research institutions.
Under his leadership, CTAEX has become one of Europe’s leading centres for applied research in the processing tomato sector. The centre is continuously involved in regional, national and European R&D&I projects addressing the industry’s key challenges, ranging from crop production and raw material quality improvement to industrial process optimisation, digitalisation, precision agriculture, energy efficiency, circular economy and the valorisation of processing by-products. This research is carried out in close partnership with industry stakeholders, ensuring that scientific advances are effectively translated into practical solutions for the productive sector.
Among José Luis Llerena’s most significant initiatives is the creation of the Processing Tomato Technology Observatory, an innovative platform developed by CTAEX that provides the sector with scientific, technological and market intelligence, facilitating access to knowledge, technology watch and the identification of new innovation opportunities. The Observatory has become a benchmark resource for growers, processing companies, technology providers and researchers, reinforcing CTAEX’s role as a key knowledge transfer organisation.
