The Agricultural Farm of Zaragoza, which was created in 1881, is the origin of the Agri-Food Research and Technology Centre of Aragon. CITA was created in 2002 as a public agri-food and environmental research body attached to the Government of Aragon.
It is based in the Montañana district of Zaragoza (within the Aula Dei Campus). It has three experimental farms that represent the main agro-ecosystems of Aragon: irrigated agriculture (Soto Lezcano), rainfed agriculture (El Vedado bajo del horno) and livestock and mountain agriculture (La Garcipollera).
It is part of the INIA_CCAA system. National network of agricultural and food research and technology centres, together with centres in 16 other Autonomous Communities.
In 2018 CITA inaugurated the Rural Bioeconomy Innovation Centre in Teruel, with an activity focused on promoting the Circular Bio-Economy with agents in the agricultural and forestry sector.
CITA has a staff of 249 people, 54% of whom are women and 46% men. Approximately 60 people are staff researchers.
CITA conducts research in four main strategic areas: Sustainability of Agricultural and Forestry Systems, Global Change, Global Health and Agri-Food Systems of the Future.
CITA holds numerous patents and plant varieties in almond, peach, fruiting rootstocks, wormwood, pepper, thistle, melon and borage.
CITA carried out the world’s first cloning of an extinct species (the Bucardo, Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) in 2003.
CITA has a Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability Examination Station (EEDHE), commissioned by the Spanish Plant Variety Office, for the varietal identification of almond, peach, cherry, pear, quince and peach x almond rootstocks for the whole of Europe.
CITA has 2 large Germplasm Banks of Fruit and Horticultural species, which form part of the Network of Collections of the National Programme for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources for Agriculture and Food.
