Miquel Riera (Mataró, 1972) is a member of the fourth generation of a farming family with an incredibly strong work ethic. Miquel and his equally purposeful wife Sílvia Porras (Mataró, 1973) are at the helm of the Pla de Munt organic market garden, a lrsfinh agricultural business in the Lower Tordera Agrarian Space (EABT). For some time now, they’ve been sharing the running of the business with two of their four children, forming a cohesive team that also includes five agricultural workers and three professionals responsible for marketing and management support tasks. The estate boasts a wonderful location right next to the Tordera River, where, over the years, the family has created a welcoming and enjoyable space for its customers.

Pla de Munt has the air of a small self-sufficient community. There’s a recreation and rest area in a lovely shady spot, a children’s play area, a farm shop, some wooden cabins that until recently housed a restaurant project called Espai Rural Cuina, and the greenhouses, which occupy approximately ten percent of the estate. The family owns five hectares of land and leases an additional half hectare. At Pla de Munt they grow carrots and radishes for the wholesale market and up to 35 varieties of horticultural products for the retail market.

Miquel is quite the handyman, which is one of the skillsets that any farmer worth his salt must have. By the time he was 18 years old, he’d completed a vocational training diploma in agriculture and was plying his trade on a family farm in Mataró. The passion for farming is in his blood. Miquel’s great-grandfather, who came from the area of the Cadí mountain range in northern Catalonia, practiced transhumance, herding his livestock every year from the Pyrenees to the Vallès area. It was a time of scarcity and famine. In around 1934 or 1935, he made the decision to set up a dairy in the centre of Mataró, the capital of the Maresme area. Miquel’s grandfather and grandmother then took over the reins of the family business until the feed crisis hit, at which point they switched to agriculture. The increasing pressure of urban planning needs at the end of the 20th century and its effect on the family’s land led Miquel’s father to pose a crucial question. Addressing his five children, he asked: “Who wants to be a farmer? Whoever’s interested will be entitled to the land.” They all replied in the affirmative and he shared out part of this inheritance in his lifetime, giving land in Mataró to two of his sons and land in Palafolls to his other two sons and his daughter.

The first of the children to settle next to the Tordera river was Miquel. He and Sílvia started from scratch, with just a two-metre-squared hut and bags of enthusiasm. Fast forward to today and we have before us a resilient couple who embody the principles of respecting the land, caring for people’s health and conserving the environment. They look happy, satisfied with the path that they’ve travelled together and that has shaped them. Running a business is no easy task and family companies are no exception, but these two farmers love being part of a determined, close-knit team.

In the early years, Miquel and Sílvia practiced conventional farming, focusing on three crops: radish, spinach and endive. But everything changed in 2006. When pregnant with their fourth child (their daughter), Silvia began to suffer from multiple chemical sensitivity. She had an adverse reaction to products such as perfumes, deodorants and soaps. “My body said enough, and that opened our eyes. Of course, we were spreading chemicals on the farm!” explains Sílvia. In order to address her health problems, they created a small organic kitchen garden to feed the family.

They soon realised that something was ethically wrong. “It wasn’t right that we were making a living from growing radishes sprayed with pesticides while consuming organic produce ourselves,” Miquel acknowledges. At that time, it was much more common to spray horticultural crops with synthetic chemicals.

«It wasn’t right that we were making a living from growing radishes sprayed with pesticides while consuming organic produce ourselves» Miquel Riera
 

The transition from conventional to organic vegetable growing

But how to transfer the practice from a small kitchen garden to an entire farm? Miquel recalls that the farming he’d studied at agricultural college and learned about through his family consisted of a “no-holds-barred, intensive” approach. It was necessary to unlearn everything and start from scratch, completely overhauling the production model of the business. When it came to implementing organic farming practices, they realised they had no one to turn to with their questions. They decided to start by regenerating their land, since they’d always used chemical fertilisers rather than manure. “The plants were used to being fed intravenously!” Miquel explains. As they transitioned from growing three types of vegetable to thirty, the complexity of the work increased, as did their labour costs. “Chemical farming offers a comprehensive solution to one big problem, like when you take antibiotics for a stomach complaint, whereas in organic farming you come across all sorts of problems and have to come up with many small solutions,” he says.

During the conversion process, they spent a lot of time researching, documenting and testing new methodologies, on a trial and error basis. The decision to make the switch was not a fad but rather based on a deeply held conviction. “Once this transformation began, there was no turning back, so we had to do whatever it took to make it work,” recalls Sílvia. Since they had no market in which to sell their products, they had to create one. They began by distributing vegetable baskets, covering the area from Girona to L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. They eventually stopped doing this because it wasn’t making good business sense.

Nowadays, Miquel coordinates the vegetable growing side of things, while Sílvia takes care of the finances, paperwork and marketing. But they’re well aware that a family project is only as good as the sum of its members’ skills, so if there’s something they don’t know how to do, they learn how to do it. “We’ve always done everything between us here. It’s no good having to pay to get it done,” says Silvia. For instance, their eldest son is a mechanic and helps Miquel repair agricultural machinery. Although this is a two-man team, before they execute a particular task, Miquel’s son is the one who devotes time to planning the design in order to achieve more lasting results. The creative duo recently bought a fourth-hand carrot harvester off some farmers in Alt Urgell who were closing their business and the lad will try to fix it during the winter season. This is a company built on the foundation of continuous learning.

Today, Miquel is proud of the farming they practice in the Pla de Munt organic market garden, which is registered with the Catalan Council for Organic Agricultural Production (CCPAE). Over the years, he’s seen for himself the huge difference between the two approaches. “In the old days, when I was farming with chemicals and intensive practices, I was just a manager; now I’m a proper farmer!” he states. He’s acquired detailed knowledge of all the varieties they grow, their forms of adaptation and their associated problems. He’s also become an expert on the different types of soil they have on the farm, knowing which one best suits each plant. The farm shop isn’t their only sales outlet. They also supply schools with organic produce, collaborate with other farmers and operate in the wholesale market, as well as selling washed and bagged organic carrots and lettuces to some supermarkets.

«In the old days, when I was farming with chemicals and intensive practices, I was just a manager; now I’m a proper farmer!» Miquel Riera
 

Growing organic and wholesale vegetables is no easy task. Day after day, they strive to improve their processes through a mixture of creativity and ingenuity. “If someone had told me 25 years ago that I’d be doing this today, I wouldn’t have believed them. Back then, I thought the way to produce such a large volume was by practicing a no-holds-barred kind of farming, but it’s not true!” he says with conviction. It’s clear to see how organic farming has reshaped their environment. Sílvia talks admiringly about the huge amount of biodiversity on the estate, from the Eurasian hoopoe that greets them each morning to the frogs that enjoy a raft built by the family right next to the farmhouse.

Miquel, who sees things more from a farming perspective, always has to bridge the gap between what he’d like to do and what he can actually do, given the limits on his time. Despite Sílvia’s efforts to try to persuade him to try to grow new varieties, Miquel isn’t always willing to take risks, since he believes that consumers won’t buy products with which they’re unfamiliar. “Grow me a purple potato,” Sylvia insists. Thanks to these fruitful discussions, they’re improving their horticultural offering.

From the earth to the dish

Looking at the project from a financial perspective, they acknowledge that money is still tight; there’s always a turnip or cabbage to invest in. “We’ve changed the model. Now it’s down to our children to make the business economically viable, ensuring that it runs more smoothly,” explains Miquel. One of the initiatives in which they’ve invested a lot of money is the Espai Rural Cuina (Rural Space Kitchen), a restaurant set in the heart the Pla de Munt market garden. The project is currently on hold while the search goes on for a chef who’s the right fit for the team.

After opening the farm shop, the family thought that one last piece was needed to complete the jigsaw: “We wanted to offer people the chance to sit at a table and enjoy vegetables from the market garden,” explains Miquel. So they decided to open the Espai Rural Cuina. It was designed as both a restaurant featuring their products and an educational facility in which workshops and other activities could be held. It opened from June to August in its first season and throughout the year in its second season. It’s a pleasant space, made up of two wooden cabins set among trees that provide some lovely shade in summer. It’s easy to imagine yourself enjoying this idyllic setting, calm in the knowledge that your food has been grown on this very site in a totally transparent manner. Unfortunately, fuel and energy price increases, along with rising inflation and the lack of a permanent chef, led to the restaurant’s temporary closure in the autumn of 2022. The facility remains fully fit for purpose and the family plans to reopen it at the earliest opportunity.

Miquel doesn’t hesitate when asked to identify the main challenge of the job: low food prices, which have forced them to tighten their belts. “Food prices have risen at the customer end of the chain, but these hikes haven’t benefitted the primary sector,” he explains. In fact, in order to maintain their customers, they haven’t increased prices in the farm shop. Like any employer, Miquel knows that no matter what happens in the economy, salaries still have to be paid.

«Food prices have risen at the customer end of the chain, but these hikes haven’t benefitted the primary sector» Miquel Riera
 

Another crucial challenge facing the sector is generational renewal. Miquel is quick to offer advice to those who are just starting out: “To be a farmer, you have to be ready to graft and eager to start a project.” Although their transition has been a successful one, Miquel points out that it’s been a long journey: they’ve been driving the implementation of the new model for 17 years. Meanwhile, Sílvia’s advice for people who are considering starting up an agricultural business is to “learn to do everything themselves” if they want the numbers to add up. She loves discovering new ways of doing things and thinks that her children also enjoy this creative approach. Miquel has something to add to this observation: he suggests that they’ve managed to achieve self-sufficiency “out of necessity”. As he sees it, if they were paid higher prices for their products, they’d outsource some of the tasks they currently carry out internally.

The future of the Pla de Munt market garden is safe. However, when it comes to making suggestions for the sector, Miquel believes it’s essential to rethink the length of agricultural leases. Contracts are currently for seven years. “You need three years to get the land ship-shape, and another three to recoup your investment... And then it’s time to evict you?” he asks. With this in mind, he’s in favour of the creation of public land banks throughout Catalonia. In fact, this is one of the ideas on the table of the Baixa Tordera Agricultural Space (EABT, according to its Catalan initials), a project promoted by Barcelona Provincial Council in partnership with local farmers and five town councils. The project aims to safeguard and preserve one of the most fertile horticultural areas in the province.

Miquel acknowledges that the EABT is still in its infancy but views the project with optimism: “Local councils are starting to see farmers differently. We’re no longer a wildcard to be played when the municipality wants to grow,” he says confidently. As part of this initiative, intermediate level training cycle in agroecological production has been set up and a shared food production facility is being built that’s scheduled to open next December. He also points out that the EABT serves as a supra-municipal tool, giving the five municipalities greater strength when they work collectively.

Pla de Munt is benefitting from the new attitude of municipalities towards their surroundings. Miquel’s family is very much in favour of the proper planning of peri-urban areas and the improvement of streams and other watercourses, since this is the type of action that will encourage people to visit farm shops, buy local food and get to know local vegetable growers.

«Local councils are starting to see farmers differently. We’re no longer a wildcard to be played when the municipality wants to grow» Miquel Riera
 

A principled couple

Miquel and Sílvia have been together for more than three decades and have been vegetarians for a number of years. When he reflects on what it’s like to share a professional project with his wife, Miquel is clear about one thing: “Working together can bring you closer together or tear you apart.” In their case, they seem as close as can be, and they’ve transmitted their can-do, collaborative and self-sufficient attitude to their four children. In fact, when we ask them about raising their children, they tell us that they homeschooled them for a while. “We were 30 years old and full of energy,” says Sílvia.

If he’d been asked to predict his future, Miquel would never have imagined himself running an organic farming business. Back then he thought that “organic farming was associated with hippies, with managing a small kitchen garden.” He’s ended up managing a much bigger project! He’s pleased with the progress they’ve made but, with sadness, he recalls some of the setbacks they’ve faced, such as storm Gloria, which caused damage to the estate.

Miquel and Sílvia enjoy a life that satisfies them and don’t complain about the challenges they’ve overcome together. “We work hard, but I don't regret having to get up at seven every morning,” says Miquel. They seldom travel or go out, but they say there’s no place like home. Sílvia is proud of the fact that she’s always had the support of her family in order to overcome hurdles on her life and career path. They’re a great family and a close-knit team that makes a difference, as our visit to the Pla de Munt market garden makes clear.

— BCN Smart Rural Editorial —