Abovefarm in Catalonia:
a summer trip into the social aspects of organic farming.
2020.3.7
Abovefarm in Catalonia:
a summer trip into the social aspects of organic farming.
Monica Gabrielli
Widely known for its independence struggle, Catalonia is the place to be if you are interested in learning about bottom-up processes and participation. Abovefarm’s team visited the country in July 2019, searching for organic farming best practices. In each farm we visited we met a warm and passionate wave of commitment for an alternative sustainable and equal food system. This commitment is especially embraced by young people which gives great hopes for the future of organic agriculture in Europe.
Organic Catalonia
Organic agriculture is beating records this year in Catalonia. In 2018, the organic cultivated surface grew of a 5,02%, reaching 210.818 hectares. Of this surface, two-thirds are dedicated to grazing fields. Of the rest, 41% is vineyard, followed by olive tree (20%), crops (18%), dry fruit (8%), fruit (3%) and horticulture (2%). While in the rest of Europe, farmers are decreasing in number, in the Catalan organic sector more and more new young people are getting closer to agriculture. From 1995 to 2018, the number of organic farmers went from 236 to 3859. The sector is in constant growth with every year more consumers demanding healthy and environmental-friendly products. What are the reasons behind this success? In July, Abovefarm’s team had the chance to directly ask this question to Catalan farmers in the region of Barcelona. From the seaside to the mountains, with this article we will bring you through a short journey into the motivation and values guiding organic farmers in Catalonia.
Growing vegetables at the seaside
The sector is so flourishing that it even attracts entrepreneurs from abroad. An example is G., coming from the Silicon Valley. After many years as a software engineer, he realized that :”the most challenging and complex system to understand is nature.” Here, two steps away from the shoreline, G. brought in all kinds of innovative practices in order to be able to supply his growing number of local customers with fresh veggies.
Standing for women’s farmers
Barcelona City is just behind. While we driving towards North, immediately a sense of peace gets on us from the landscape. We are heading towards the Catalan Pyrenees to meet two women involved in organic meat production. When we get to the mountain valleys, we pass through villages which seem abandoned. Hotels and restaurants are asleep now, waiting for the ski season to welcome tourists from the city. Under 35 degrees of dry heat we meet T. on a gravel road at the end of the GPS reach. Here it is where she took over her father's business and start a new era for her organic potato and cow farm. She tells about an intergenerational struggle, about a new vision for the urgent needs of our planet. “My father started with organic many years ago but nowadays we need to move forward and overcome the mere concept of banning fertilizers and pesticides. We need to close the loop. We need to create a model of farming which is in balance with nature.”
ABOVE: hay getting dry in the fields at the foothills of the Pyrenees.
ABOVE: vegetable farm at the seaside.
To follow this vision, she introduced several adjustments in crop rotation and implemented practices to preserve biodiversity, such as growing natural hedges on the side of her potato and cereal fields. Moreover, she expanded the varieties of crop produced introducing local varieties in her production system. At this time of the year, her cows are roaming free on the mountains surrounding the farm. “I chose this kind of lifestyle because I wanted my kids to be able to enjoy this.” Sitting on the top of a hill watching her fields and the mountains in the background it is impossible to disagree.
ABOVE: organic potatoes grew without any external input.
T. explains us the importance of being united as farmers: “Our goal is to produce for local consumers. In this area, we have a strong network of organic producers which are specialized on a certain kind of product. In this way, we do not compete with each other but rather we collaborate. Being an organic farmer requires a lot of specific knowledge. Being part of a network allows me to specialize in what I am good at and at the same time together we can offer a wide set of products to consumers. Moreover, we share the struggle. I am part of a feminist group of shepherds.” In the afternoon, we meet M., a member of this group, who is proudly wearing a t-shirt saying: “Without shepherds there is no revolution”. “This kind of groups help us to define women’s collective role in agriculture”.
ABOVE: fields of local varieties of wheat.
She is a young smiling neo-mum. After finishing university and working a couple of years in Barcelona she decided to come back to her tiny family village of forty inhabitants to start her revolution.
She manages an 80 hectares farm in which her cows and chickens freely graze in the meadow and under the forest shade. Organic meat is in high demand and often with her small production she can not satisfy all her customers. Once again, support among producers is key: delivering from this remote area can be costly but local farmers overcame this problem by organizing. They deliver all together during one single trip. In this way they are able to save money and reduce emissions.
ABOVE: ‘Without (female) shepherds there is no revolution.
Protecting the landscape with a glass of wine
Time to move back to the city. Peri-urban areas are often interesting innovation hubs from a social and environmental perspective. Both nature and social webs are more fragile in the outskirts. The project we visited works hard to regenerate both. The Municipality of Barcelona in 2012 donated a piece of land to a social cooperative within a natural park. The aim was twofold: to restore an abandoned agricultural landscape and to give job opportunities for people with disabilities. Today the project produces 20.000 bottles of organic wine per year, gives a salary to 12 people with disabilities and increased the biodiversity in the surrounding area.
ABOVE: M. giving an extra snack to her “nenas” (babies)
ABOVE: vineyard in the outskirts of Barcelona
We talked hours with M. and I., the two production managers, while walking in the olive orchards. “The income of the project totally depends on the production. We do not receive any subsidy. Therefore, we need to find a good balance between our social and economic sustainability. On one hand, we want to create a working environment which allows everybody to spend their potential at their own pace, on the other hand we need to produce high quality products which can generate profits.” Moreover, great attention is given to the landscape. Before this project started, the forest took over the agricultural fields in the area. Even though this can seem an improvement, it actually caused a loss of biodiversity. “A landscape should be like a colorful mosaic” M. explains “When it is just one color it is less resilient”.
Drinking a glass of wine in the ancient villa’s wine cellar we have come to an end of this journey. What we got from being here was a sense of higher inspiration. The farmers we met are not only looking down at their field, but also looking far and over at the future that comes and at the pure idealism on which we need to hold to never step out of the right path. Organic agriculture in Catalonia is not only a lucrative business, it is also a way to fight for a fairer and cleaner planet.
ABOVE: walking in the olive orchard.
ABOVE: the ancient villa’s kitchen.
ABOVE: a mosaic landscape
ABOVE: Abovefarm’s team