Barcelona Provincial Council continues its commitment to creating agricultural areas in the province with the signing of a collaboration agreement with Sant Pere de Ribes Town Council. This accord, formalised yesterday, coinciding with World Agriculture Day, represents a further step in consolidating the territory's green infrastructure.

On Tuesday, September 9th, the Deputy Chairman of the Natural Areas and Green Infrastructure Department at Barcelona Provincial Council, Xesco Gomar, and the Mayor of Sant Pere de Ribes, Ana Herrera, signed the agreement that will enable the development of the Plana del Garraf Agricultural Area with support from the municipality's farming community. The initiative, which has a county-wide remit, is open to participation by other surrounding towns.

A project with a vision for the future

Xesco Gomar highlighted the importance of this new addition: "This is one of the firm commitments by the Barcelona Provincial Council to maintain and expand the amount of agricultural land we have in the province". The councillor also emphasised the need to champion local agricultural activity: "We have an agrarian side to Barcelona that needs to be promoted, because it remains very invisible, and much work has been done here between Sant Pere de Ribes Town Council and the farming community, through the primary sector working group".

The roadmap for establishing this area envisages drafting the Plana del Garraf Agricultural Area Management and Development Plan, which will be produced by the Institute for Agri-Food Research and Technology (IRTA). "We hope that what begins in Sant Pere de Ribes will spread like an oil slick and extend to the municipalities around us", Gomar added.

The deputy confirmed that talks have already begun with other mayors across the county, who have shown willingness to collaborate. Furthermore, he explained that when there is "more municipal participation and greater quantities of land dedicated to agricultural areas, the amount of resources we commit will be greater". He also recalled that "one of the best fire prevention measures a municipality can take is to expand its agricultural area".

Commitment to the primary sector

For her part, Mayor Ana Herrera championed the municipality's agricultural heritage: "Sant Pere de Ribes is the municipality in Garraf county with the largest agricultural area and, therefore, we believe the primary sector must be nurtured, protected and supported". Herrera explained that "we will define the needs together with the farming community and receive economic resources from the Barcelona Provincial Council to address those needs".

For the mayor, establishing this agricultural area will provide resources for the municipality to preserve "a sector that is very important economically as well as culturally and for the town's identity".

More than production: ecosystem services and green infrastructure

Agricultural areas are fundamental for local agri-food production, but their benefits extend far beyond. They constitute areas with cultural, natural and identity-based resources and values that strengthen urban environments and form part of the province's green infrastructure.

These areas generate essential ecosystem services that contribute to water cycle regulation, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. At the same time, they seek to preserve, promote, and diversify agricultural activities to strengthen the farming and livestock sectors, ensuring their continuity, growth, viability, and adaptation.

Agricultural areas also facilitate access to local produce, promote its consumption and strengthen links between citizens and the primary sector, acting as providers of safe, healthy and sustainable food.

Expanding green infrastructure in agriculture

Currently, the Barcelona Provincial Council supports a total of 10 agricultural areas and parks through signed agreements, encompassing 65 municipalities and 112,368 hectares of agricultural land, which benefits 1,733,425 people. Data on these areas can be consulted on the interactive map on the Barcelona Agraria website.

For further information about the agricultural areas supported by the corporation, please contact Sònia Callau, head of the Territorial Agricultural Directorate at Barcelona Provincial Council and coordinator of the Barcelona Agrària program.