BCN Smart Rural has just released a guide to help the new generation of farmers start businesses in the agricultural and livestock sectors. Titled 'The Adventure of Being a Farmer,' this digital guide aims to facilitate entry into farming for young individuals who do not come from a farming background. With this objective, it compiles all the necessary resources and information to launch an agricultural or livestock project when one does not have the advantage of taking over a family farm.

The publication also includes the 19 points in the Catalan territory that offer personalized technical advice and support services for the creation of new agricultural companies. In this sense, it is a unique document that brings together all the initiatives that promote agricultural entrepreneurship in Catalonia and represents a decisive milestone in the consolidation of a model of cooperation and collaboration between different public administrations: town councils, Barcelona County Council and Generalitat de Catalunya.

'The Adventure of Being a Farmer' is divided into 10 chapters with the main stages that must be overcome by any young person who wants to join the primary sector, especially if they do not come from a farming family. At the beginning of the guide, the particularities of agricultural projects are explained and the importance of finding a business opportunity and being clear about the technical needs. Resources for networking with entities that can offer advice are provided later, and agribusiness hosting spaces are listed.

The guide also includes a map with the regulated training centres on agri-food topics, as well as links to the network of shared agri-food processing facilities and abattoirs in the province of Barcelona, and a list of local consumer cooperatives that can help new farmers to distribute their products. Finally, the publication incorporates a section where the importance of having an economic viability plan for the new business project is highlighted and the legal procedures that need to be done to launch an agricultural business are explained.

The design of 'The Adventure of Being a Farmer' was carried out by Aida Garriga and Toni Falcó, from the studio Duplex Creativity, who opted for a fresh, modern and innovative image, fully adapted to the target audience. «Young people who want to embark on the great adventure of running an agricultural enterprise are creative and brave beings. If we don't want to disappoint them, we have to try to be as creative and brave as them», explained the designer from Manresa.

The guide has been edited by the BCN Smart Rural Land Banks Network with co-financing from the Barcelona Provincial Council and FEDER funds from the European Union.

About the BCN Smart Rural Land Bank Network

The Land Banks Network is one of the priority actions of BCN Smart Rural, the strategy of the Barcelona Provincial Council to transform the agri-food sector of the province. 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.

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 BCN Smart Rural Land Banks Network, please contact Pere Navarro, territory engineer of the Agrarian Territorial Directorate of the Barcelona Provincial Council.

— BCN Smart Rural Editorial —