Palafolls, Tordera, Santa Susanna, Malgrat de Mar, and Blanes are five well-rooted municipalities. They are not only located in one of the most beautiful areas of Catalonia, between the mountains of the Montnegre i el Corredor Natural Park and the beaches of Selva and Alt Maresme, but have also just signed a historic agreement to preserve their agricultural activity.

Puigvert's mill in Palafolls hosted this Thursday, June 17, the presentation and official constitution of the managing body of the Baixa Tordera Agrarian Space (EABT), a project promoted by the Barcelona Provincial Council to protect the agricultural soil of the territory and guarantee local food production. The event was presided over by Josep Tarin, Deputy for Natural Areas and Forest Fire Prevention of the Barcelona Provincial Council, and was attended by the mayors of all the municipalities that make up the EABT, representatives of farmers and the three agricultural cooperatives in the territory, in addition to young students from the training cycle in agroecological production at the Ramon Turró Secondary School in Malgrat de Mar. Representatives from the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Girona Provincial Council, the Maresme and Selva County Councils, Barcelona City Council, Barcelona Metropolitan Area, the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) and the Federation of Maresme Vegetal Defense Associations, among other personalities.

During the event, the articles of incorporation of the EABT managing body were signed and the project's Management and Development Plan was presented, a document that recognizes the high economic, social and environmental value of the territory and which Josep Tarin considers "fundamental". "The Baixa Tordera Agrarian Space is a unique territory, which is home to one of the most fertile vegetable gardens in the country. With the constitution of the EABT's management body and the presentation of its action document, we help to maintain the agricultural activity of this territory and contribute to guaranteeing the right of citizens to enjoy healthy, sustainable, locally produced food" he said today.

The mayor of Palafolls, Francesc Alemany, spoke on behalf of the municipalities that make up the new agricultural area and declared that "with the creation of the EABT, more than 2,300 hectares of farmland are preserved from the dangers of urbanization, the construction of infrastructures and afforestation. It is a key action for the future of our food sovereignty and the future of the country".

Xavier Castells, manager of the Progrés-Garbí Agricultural Cooperative, also spoke, who defended the economic, social and environmental role of local farming: "If a territory does not take care of its farming, agriculture disappears. If agriculture disappears, we stop producing food. If we stop producing food, we have to go buy it outside. And that's not good for people or the environment."

Miquel Riera, agroecological producer at Horta Pla de Munt, has expressed himself in the same vein. This son of a farmer and father of four children aged between 14 and 22, has reiterated the importance of protecting the agricultural landscape for future generations and promoting production systems that are more respectful of the biodiversity of ecosystems. "Doing organic agriculture and animal husbandry would avoid many of the environmental problems we suffer at present. If we take the challenge of the climate emergency seriously, we must bet more on practices that regenerate the earth instead of depleting it", he explained.

The main protagonists of the event were, however, the young people. Invited to make their voices heard, two students from the training cycle in agroecology at the Ramon Turró Secondary School read a statement with their demands for actions for sustainable agriculture and food. Directly appealing to the politicians present at the Puigvert mill, Pau Àngel and Carol Serra have appealed to the public administrations to guarantee the continuity of the farming activity, "without which we will not be able to feed our citizens in a sustainable and resilient way to climate change".

The session culminated with the help of Marc Puig-Pey, a former member of the El Bulli restaurant team and current chef of the Alicia Foundation, who surprised the attendees with a sensory tour of the best products of the Baixa Tordera Agrarian Space.

A familiar and diversified agricultural space

The Baixa Tordera Agrarian Space concentrates nearly half of the agricultural surface of the entire Maresme county. In total, more than 2,300 hectares of crop fields are protected with the creation of this agricultural space, which dedicates 70% of its land to irrigated crops and 30% to rain-fed crops. The vegetable gardens are mainly concentrated in Palafolls, Blanes and Malgrat de Mar, while Tordera stands out for cereals and fodder. Of cattle farms, there are 46 censuses, grouped mainly in the municipal terms of Tordera and Palafolls.

The Management and Development Plan of the EABT also highlights other interesting data, such as, for example, that most of the horticultural farms in the territory are small and family-owned, with a size of between 2 and 5 hectares; that 56% of farmland is owned; that the farmer profile of the EABT is a man just over 50 years old, with secondary education studies and without generational relief; that 20% of the owners of agricultural holdings are women; and that, between direct and indirect labour, there are a thousand employed in the garden sector.

Protect, manage and energize

At the presentation event of the Baixa Tordera Agrarian Space, Sònia Callau, head of the Territorial Agrarian Directorate of the Barcelona Provincial Council, highlighted the need to preserve the traditional and diverse agricultural landscape of the lower valley de la Tordera and place the territory at the forefront of the agricultural and food policies that are being designed for the demarcation of Barcelona with horizon 2030. "It is a very dynamic and well-organized agricultural area, which has the most productive agricultural land per surface unit in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona, ​​but it is not without dangers: according to the latest data we have, the Baixa Tordera Agrarian Space has lost 52% of its agricultural surface since the 1950s. Specifically, 2,572 hectares, an area equivalent to 3,600 football fields. And this is a trend that we want to stop with the implementation of the EABT", she said.

Another challenge to be addressed is the fact that currently 8% of EABT's crops are cultivated organically, and most of them are cereals. This percentage is still far from the objective set by the European Union, which wants to achieve that 25% of agricultural land is farmed organically before 2030. To reach this milestone and push the territory towards a healthier and more sustainable food system, the EABT should expand by 242 hectares the cultivated surface dedicated to organic agriculture.

Sònia Callau finished her speech by highlighting the degree of self-sufficiency in irrigated crops of the Baixa Tordera Agrarian Space: "The EABT is more than self-sufficient in vegetables and many fruits, and this should be celebrated. Residents of Palafolls, Tordera, Santa Susanna, Malgrat de Mar and Blanes can cook healthy and tasty dishes with local food, and this is a privilege that many towns and cities would like to have for themselves. It is one of the few territories in the country that guarantees and will guarantee the access of its population to local, fresh and quality products".

— BCN Smart Rural Editorial —