This Thursday, the Barcelona Provincial Council opened the doors of Can Comas, headquarters of the Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park, to host the presentation of a unique publication in the world. It's called 'Feeding Barcelona', it's in a digital format and it's the first practical guide published by a public administration to promote local food strategies.

With photographs by Patxi Uriz and a fresh and innovative design, the publication is the result of the joint, continuous and transversal work of three experts in the field: Sònia Callau, head of the Territorial Agrarian Directorate of the Barcelona Provincial Council and coordinator of the BCN Smart Rural strategy; Josep Montasell, co-founder and first director of the Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park; and Anna Roca, professor at the University of Girona and consultant for agri-food revitalization projects. In it, they propose a roadmap that aims to help local bodies that wish to supply their population with local products. Easy to follow and highly practical, the publication aspires to become a reference work for towns and cities that want to move towards a healthier, safer and more sustainable food model.

The edition of the guide is part of the BCN Smart Rural strategy and has been co-financed by the Diputació de Barcelona and the FEDER funds of the European Union.

We grow together

The event started with the full poster and a warm welcome from the deputy for Mobility, Natural Areas and Forest Fire Prevention of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Valentí Junyent. A big fan of teamwork and a defender of dialogue and consensus, Junyent said «It's time to stop and reflect because the current dynamics are leading us to move forward without much sense». In this sense, the deputy affirmed that «the commitment of public entities and of people who are already convinced is needed to convey the message that we must bet on local food».

The trace left by the deputy's words has been continued by the rest of the speakers at the meeting, which has had the participation of a wide representation of public administrations, citizen organizations and different areas and services of the Barcelona Provincial Council

The president of the Consortium of the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park, Eva Martínez, and the technical coordinator of the Catalan Food Council of the Department of Climate Action, Laia Camps, have highlighted the importance of guaranteeing the supply of food to the population proximity and to strengthen the bond between producers and consumers. In the same vein, Fernando Fernández, director general of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development of the Government of the Balearic Islands, has expressed himself, who has pointed out the need to bet on the digitization of the agricultural sector, among other reasons, «because it can attract young people». The general coordinator of Barcelona's Metropolitan Strategic Plan, Oriol Estela, has been vocal about the establishment of policies, objectives and actions: «Food must be planned. You can't improvise with the food of 5 million people, who are the ones who live in the metropolitan region of Barcelona». «A good food strategy must include urban and peri-urban agriculture», added Josep Carles Vicente, a member of the National Standing Committee of the Union of Farmers.

Food, at the heart of institutional policy and citizen action

The talks to move towards a tastier, healthier and more sustainable food system have continued with outstanding achievements of citizen action, which have been known from the hands of its main promoters. These particularly inspiring projects are the Xarxa Pagesa, a group of farmers from the regions of Girona who have joined forces to bring their products to small local shops; Eixarcolant, a collective that defends the recovery of traditional agricultural varieties; the Lluçanès Consortium, the essential engine of Quall, the first collective cheese dairy in Catalonia; Ecocentral, a transparent distributor of organic and local food for companies managing organic and local food; Hortec, the first Catalan cooperative committed to organic agriculture; the Central Catalonia Cooperative Atheneum, a space for meeting and coordination with the clear commitment to promoting the social and cooperative economy in the territory; and Espigoladors, a foundation that fights against food waste.

The final stretch of the meeting made it possible to underline some of the actions that the Barcelona Provincial Council is carrying out to positively transform the food system of the Barcelona counties. Speakers were Guida Obrador, manager of the corporation's Public Health and Consumer Services; Xavier Font, head of the Technical Tourism Office; Rosabel Hernández, head of the Local Productive Fabric Support Section; Helena Perxacs, manager of the Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park; Josep Antoni Báguena, head of Territorial Analysis and Prospective; and Carles Castell, responsible for Monitoring Environmental Programs and Actions.

The presentation of the publication 'Feeding Barcelona' was concluded by Jaume Minguell, who is the head of the Office of Municipal Prevention of Forest Fires and Agrarian Development at the Barcelona Provincial Council, who specified the resources offered by the corporation to local bodies that want to design and implement food strategies in their municipalities.

For more information on the publication 'Feeding Barcelona' and how to design and implement local food strategies, please contact Sònia Callau, head of the Territorial Agricultural Directorate of the Barcelona Provincial Council.

— BCN Smart Rural Editorial —