That the Catalan countryside is ageing is no longer a surprise. However, the fact that there are currently more than 100,000 hectares of abandoned crops is a concerning reality. For this reason, the latest short film in the series of 'BCN Smart Rural Stories' focuses on an initiative designed to identify and recover unused agricultural and livestock estates throughout the country. This initiative is co-financed by the Barcelona Provincial Council with the support of the European Union's FEDER funds.

Titled 'When the Land is a Seed', the audiovisual piece focuses on the Land Banks Network of Catalonia and features Gessamí Sardà, an expert in land banks originally from Baix Camp; Conxita Enrich, owner of an agricultural estate in Castellbell and Vilar; and Arç Fontrodona, a young entrepreneur and main promoter of El Meu Hort, a cooperative of farmers and engineers committed to food traceability.

About the land banks of the BCN Smart Rural strategy

The Land Banks Network of Catalonia is a pioneering European action that the Barcelona Provincial Council has promoted, managed and co-founded since 2018 within the framework of BCN Smart Rural, the corporation's strategy to transform the agri-food sector. It aims to connect the owners of abandoned or disused farms and people looking for land to cultivate, and to provide the technical and legal support that best suits the needs of both parties. To achieve this, it collaborates with local councils and entities that want to preserve the rural landscape and promote agricultural activity in the territory. Currently, the Land Banks Network hosts 13 initiatives that are carried out throughout the region and has the firm involvement of 134 municipalities.

The services offered by the Land Banks Network are free and include the facilitation of contact between the two parties, technical support, legal advice, contract formalization, continuing education and other actions that directly benefit people owners and lessees of agricultural estates. But this tool also has a very positive impact on a social and environmental scale, as it contributes to reducing the risk of forest fires, preserving the landscape, revitalizing the rural world and facilitating the consumption of local products to combat climate change.

For more information about the Land Banks Network of Catalonia, please contact Pere Navarro, land engineer of the Territorial Agrarian Directorate of the Barcelona Provincial Council.

— BCN Smart Rural Editorial —