L'Hort d'en Dídac is located on a hillside right next to the Mataró Parc shopping centre. This vantage point affords views both of Mataró (the capital city of the Maresme area) and of the sea. The family of Dídac Valera (Mataró, 1981) has been dedicated to farming for four generations. His forebears initially grew flowers before switching to more industrialised farming, selling their produce wholesale. Since 2010, the focus of the business has been on growing certified organic produce, adopting a direct sales approach. The family farms three fields, covering a total area of six hectares. It owns the main field and cultivates the other two on a lease basis.

The first thing that strikes you about Dídac is his dynamic personality. Sat behind the wheel of a tractor, with his shock of curly hair, he’s constantly on the move. On the day of our interview, he and three of his workers are busy sowing lines of garlic and calçots, a Catalan variety of green onion. As he goes about his work, he tells us all about his relationship with the land. You can tell that this farmer enjoys educating people and revealing the secrets and gems of his profession.

As he describes his job, Dídac uses words in Catalan that we’ve never heard before, such as xaragall, a furrow caused by the rain. In the context of the climate emergency, water is one of the sensitive issues we discuss with him. However, the key word in our interview is “community”. Dídac, a hugely optimistic person, is a great believer in the transformative power of consumers. That’s why he’s strongly attuned to his surroundings and strives to maintain an innovative attitude, a strategic vision and a close relationship with his customers.

Dídac currently manages the company with one of his brothers and they employ twelve full-time workers. They sell their produce and a selection of plants in their farm shop. They also have a stall at the Plaça de Cuba Market in Mataró and provide a home delivery service of fruit and vegetable baskets.

In addition, they’re members of the EcoMaresme cooperative, collaborate with the Hortec cooperative and take part in agrifood initiatives promoted by Mataró City Council and the Cinc Sènies-Mata-Valldeix Agricultural Space, among others.

 

---

 

You come from farming stock, but when was L'Hort d'en Dídac set up?

We started our agricultural project back in 2010, selling directly to customers. Having enjoyed a period of bounty for around 50 years, I saw that things were getting complicated for the wholesale model, so I decided to switch to a direct sales system, referred to nowadays as a “zero miles” or “short circuit” system. These are new terms for an old practice; there’ve always been farmhouses that sell their produce at the local market or in farm shops. The point is that we were dedicated to industrialised agriculture. We grew vegetables as a complementary activity to our flower business. We sold them at the El Born market and then at Mercabarna. One day, 13 years ago, I decided to expand the range of produce we grew. I was young, with my whole career ahead of me, and I was keen to grab the bull by its horns. Before setting up a farm shop in the market garden, I decided to send out a mass email to my acquaintances, explaining that I was growing a wide variety of produce, and it worked surprisingly well! This email marked the start of the home delivery service.

 

Knowing your customers is a crucial factor for you. Why is that?

Selling directly to my customers enables me to learn a lot about farming trends. Customers’ needs evolve very quickly, so being in close contact with them is essential. I see great potential in direct sales.

Would it be fair to say that you’re passionate about your community and about generating a positive impact on your environment, an urban area surrounded by farmland and nature?

We’ve spent the last twenty or thirty years living in cities, but I think we’re sort of becoming ruralised again. My work is rooted in the countryside, and what I see is that city dwellers need to experience and touch nature. We’re not designed to be completely civilized; it does us good to go barefoot and get in touch with nature to reduce stress, to prevent heart and mental health problems. What’s more, lots of us eat too many carbohydrates and have sedentary lifestyles. When people realise that city life isn’t doing them any good, they’ll return to the countryside.

 

«We have spent the last twenty or thirty years living in cities, but I think we’re sort of becoming ruralised again» Dídac Valera

 

Through L’Hort d’en Dídac, you offer people healthy food. What farming practices do you follow?

The type of farming we practice is more attuned to the climate; it’s more traditional, focused on seasonal crops. When it rains, the fields get wet; when there’s a freeze, crops freeze; and when it’s hot, the earth sweats, it gets dry or sun-drenched. This approach is more resilient than industrialised farming.

Water scarcity, especially in times of drought, is one of the obstacles to sustaining agriculture in the Mediterranean region. Have you been affected by this situation close the sea? Have you made changes to adapt to this new scenario?

It’s been touch and go this year. The strawberry harvest in spring would have been a disaster without the water reserves of the previous summer! And to survive the summer, we need to have a water strategy. On the farm we’ve got four greenhouses that serve to collect rainwater, along with a pond that can hold two and a half million litres of water. If it’s full in May, we can survive the summer. As for our calçots, although the harvest will be in February, they have to be planted in September and we need to have water stored for them to grow well!

In terms of how we manage water, we’re reviving a traditional method in our fields. My grandfather belonged to the generation of farmers from the Maresme area who managed to pull himself out of poverty thanks to exporting potatoes to England. At that time, he grew vines, and now our goal is to replant them to try to adapt to water scarcity.

Meanwhile, about seven or eight years ago we decided to stop ploughing our fields, following the principles proposed by regenerative agriculture. This means that the little water available in the subsoil stays in the field and we prevent surface runoff. It also favours the formation of a root system and underground galleries where worms, mice, snakes and insects can live. When it rains, these galleries can absorb large amounts of water. When you leave the earth bare, the field gets flooded, whereas if the soil isn’t compacted, it can filter the water. That’s why we dig crosspieces! To prevent furrows from forming if there’s a downpour during the night.

These are all innovative measures that you’ve implemented on your farm. Where do you find inspiration for the more creative side of your work?

Inquisitiveness leads you to innovation. I approach innovation from a sensory perspective, but some people do so from the business and regulatory angle. It’s also true that market demands can dictate changes, but I’d say that half of this inquisitiveness is just part of who I am: it’s about being prepared to unlearn things while being ready to learn what life offers you. The market often makes you ask yourself questions: “Why haven’t cabbages sold well this year? Didn’t they look nice enough?” But if you stop for a moment to analyse it, you see that people aren’t buying cabbage because they’re not making trinxat any more. Nowadays they buy it ready-made or order it in restaurants. Another example of the importance of observing and adapting to trends is our website. We created it about ten years ago, but now people use their phones much more for browsing, so our IT person suggested creating an app to make it easier for customers to place orders.

Which farming task do you enjoy the most?

Planting is one of the jobs I like best, even more than harvesting. I also enjoy weeding from time to time, because it’s something I was into as a kid. What’s more, it’s crucial to know how to get rid of weeds in a timely fashion. Another task I’m enthusiastic about is customising my work tools. Since I’m inquisitive and a bit of a handyman, I get lots of ideas. I like to wonder about stuff: “How could we adapt this tool in that way?” I wonder about stuff and come up with inventions while I’m on the tractor. That’s my time, when I’m doing a monotonous task with continuous background noise... In the days after spending a couple of hours on the tractor, things begin to take shape: I might decide to create a garden, set up a tasting room or change partners. Ha, ha, ha! It’s when I can take stock and be alone with my thoughts. At the same time, I’m burning calories, so I don’t need to go to the gym! In this job, you need to take care of your body!

 

«I’m enthusiastic about customising my work tools» Dídac Valera

 

In addition to taking care of the community and your physical and mental health, it’s also important to look after the people you work with to ensure their well-being and the stability of your business. How do you take care of labour relations on a day-to-day basis out in the fields?

We try to generate good vibes, because the work’s hard and the cold can get to you, not to mention the heat... At the end of the day, we’re a team. Some farmers work alone, but that looks tricky to me: if you’ve got kids, for example, it’s harder to strike a work-life balance; and if you get sick or want to go on holiday, who’s going to look after the vegetable garden? It has to be supervised every day... Another thing we do when working out in the fields is hold assemblies. We talk about football or discuss coups d’état in Africa, speaking in Mandinka. Ha, ha, ha. While I chat, I try to pay attention to details: I check whether there’s too much grass, whether the fields are dry, making sure everyone has what they need, etc.

And how do you take care of yourself?

Ha, ha, ha! My wife often asks me this...

As a member of the fourth generation of a family of farmers, what do you consider essential to guarantee generational renewal in farming?

I think it’s important for working farmers to transmit a positive attitude to young people and give them hope. Young people in the primary sector need to hear optimistic voices and have role models that can serve as an example. That said, you come across all sorts of situations in the countryside! Sometimes, the older guys want to impose their vision on the younger lot, telling them what to do. The discussions and conflicts that arise from this don’t foster generational renewal... However, some young people may not have what it takes to run a business. You need to be smart to run a farming business. When it comes down to it, a successful farming business doesn’t depend so much on the farmer’s attitude, but more on the consumer’s behaviour. Consumers decide the country’s agricultural policy with their purchasing decisions.

 

«A successful farming business doesn’t depend so much on the farmer’s attitude, but more on the consumer’s behaviour» Dídac Valera

 

Do the decisions of individuals really have such a major impact? Doesn’t the power of large corporations prevail?

If people consume local products, they encourage a local economy. On the other hand, if they do all their shopping in the supermarket, the large distribution chains do their thing; that is, they go about optimising their profit margins as much as possible, which often means not caring about people or the countryside. Agricultural and livestock farmers manage the countryside and prevent it from being abandoned.

In the past, it was very common to find farms that combined livestock farming with vegetable crops. Even now, many farms in Catalonia that keep livestock also grow vegetable crops to feed the animals, etc. This diversification not only creates economic activity, but also has a positive impact on the local environment. Some appalling farming practices have been carried out in the past, but nowadays we have much greater awareness and more resources to practice responsible, careful farming. Moreover, the current regulations tell us what we can and can’t do... Today, local farmers put out fires and preserve the landscape so that people can enjoy it.

Are you referring to the ones who practice organic farming or farmers in general?

I’m referring to all of them, because even those who don’t practice organic farming no longer use certain products: many harmful chemicals have been banned by European regulations for years now. However, to repeat what I said before: generational renewal won’t be fostered by me, but rather by all the mouths we have to feed in our country.

What can the public authorities do to promote the local economy?

The public authorities should take bolder measures. The current land management model is heading in the right direction, but it still needs to be bolder and stronger. It’s true that the Catalan authorities are somewhat constrained in what they can do, but it must also be said that our public bodies are too liberal, and this is a problem for sustainability and other important issues. The conservation of the countryside, the slow pace of production, the respect for and awareness of what we do… All of this goes in the opposite direction to what liberalism advocates. As things stand, the country wants to live off aeroplanes that arrive here packed with tourists, while offering inadequate support to its productive sectors, especially farming.

Agriculture is a productive sector that’s sometimes neglected or undervalued, yet small farmers remain vital when it comes to feeding the world.

Yes, you can indeed feed a lot of people with very little land, but it’s equally true that a lot of land is used to produce food that ends up being thrown away. In other words, there are people in the world who are starving, while we’re going to end up buried in the mountain of food we waste and the pile of packaging we generate. This situation is beginning to change as the production costs of farming are rising and food is becoming more expensive. This might regulate the waste and mess in which we’re living.

 

«There are people in the world who are starving, while we’re going to end up buried in the mountain of food we waste and the pile of packaging we generate» Dídac Valera

 

In addition to rising food prices, what else have you noticed in the profession lately?

I’ve noticed that there are lots of retired vegetable gardeners in their 60s or 70s who are devoting their free time to cultivating a nice allotment. A good allotment grower can feed an entire apartment block! In fact, our tomato sales are dipping because so many people have started growing them. This is an example of food sovereignty and of grabbing the bull by the horns! When society stops doing something and does something else instead, it generates a huge impact. My best customers are the ones who have allotments, since they know what it costs to grow a cabbage and never haggle over prices.

 

«My best customers are the ones who have allotments, since they know what it costs to grow a cabbage and never haggle over prices» Dídac Valera

 

There’s an African proverb that goes «Many little people doing many little things in many little places can change the world.» Do you think you’re living a life that makes a difference?

In qualitative terms, I think I have a good life, because through my work I have access to many positive things for my body and mind. However, it’s also true that I suffer the effects of being a working person under stress, an increasingly common phenomenon in society. But I’m trying to remedy that, to prevent it from taking its toll on me. This is an extremely time-consuming job, which can be a burden on the people around you: your colleagues get sick of you, your kids don’t see much of you, and so on. That’s why it’s important to communicate effectively, to understand others and, from time to time, be able to say “I’ll leave it for tomorrow.”

Have you got any exciting projects in the pipeline at L’Hort d’en Dídac?

Part of my job involves making dreams that I’ve had since I was little come true. My father once asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I replied that I wanted to own a restaurant. Since then, I’ve dabbled in various things and have followed different professional paths, even working as a waiter... But now I’m about to make my dream come true! When you have your own business, you’ve got the freedom to have a go at whatever you feel like, and my brother and I complement each other well: I’m the creative one, while he’s more a stickler for the rules; I’m instinctive and throw myself into things, even if it means making mistakes from time to time. There’s also an egotistical tendency that I have to learn to rein in, because it sometimes trips me up.

 

«Part of my job involves making dreams that I’ve had since I was little come true» Dídac Valera

 

Do you mean that you’re going to open a restaurant at L'Hort d'en Dídac? 

Not a conventional restaurant, but rather a tasting room, where people can sit and enjoy the produce we grow. Imagine eating a tomato that we’ve harvested right here, from farm to fork, nicely seasoned... We’re actually growing calçots by accident, because the real goal was to organise calçotades! We saw the calçot season as an opportunity to bring together the local community and farmers, offering our customers an authentic experience. But now we want to take things a step further by opening a tasting room on the farm. I’ve found my inspiration in wine tourism initiatives, which are among the most popular and effective experiential activities in Catalonia. Wineries sell a lot of wine through these activities. We farmers aim to replicate the model. At L’Hort d’en Dídac, people will be able to enjoy new experiences and taste our produce.

Nowadays, many people no longer cook at home: grandparents are fed up with it and parents don’t have time. And if the vegetables are organic, some people complain when they come across a worm or some earth. Ha, ha, ha! What with one thing and another, we’re losing market share, so it’s essential to win back customers and understand what they enjoy. Ever since the pandemic, we’ve noticed that everyone prefers eating out to cooking at home.

How would you sum up your views on the food system and farming?

Consumers decide policies and public bodies must be braver and implement bolder policies to preserve the countryside and protect small farmers. I understand that large companies are important for any government, but, in Catalonia, there’s an imbalance between large and small stakeholders: large companies have lots of tools to displace small ones and dominate the market. Small-scale farmers are offered the occasional marketing campaign or hollow words; symbolic gestures that don’t entail real support for the improvement of the economy and for generational renewal in the primary sector. There’s still not enough being done to protect small businesses.

 

— BCN Smart Rural Editorial —