Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

The application period is now open for subsidies of up to 3,000 euros through the Collserola Agricultural Contract. The main goal of the subsidies is to recognise and reward the work of farmers in the Collserola Natural Park, who not only provide us with food but also represent an essential service which helps manage the area and its ecosystems. One of the various benefits resulting from this work is that it helps minimise the risk of fire.

Interested parties can therefore submit applications from 1 August to 6 September, and apply for access to an overall fund of 75,000 euros, provided by the Collserola Natural Park Consortium and the councils of Barcelona, Sant Feliu, Molins de Rei, Cerdanyola, Sant Cugat, El Papiol, Sant Just and EMD Valldoreix.

The Collserola Agricultural Contract is a tool designed to help towards a more decent agri-food model for those who work the land. Its aim is to recognise and reward their work, refocusing the current food systems towards an agro-ecological one and making a commitment to the Collserola Natural Park. The contract was designed through a process where public administrations, academic institutions and farmers from Collserola all took part, with INSTA providing legal advice. This was one of the actions in the Alimentem Collserola programme to facilitate agro-ecology in the Collserola Natural Park.

The idea behind the subsidies is to create and/or maintain certain agricultural processes which help conserve biodiversity and the agricultural and woodland mosaic, and to promote activities which improve the social and ecological feasibility of agricultural properties and the lands farmed in the area.

Projects entitled to take part in the Collserola Agricultural Contract include support services for the conservation of species and habitats; regulatory services such as those to prevent fire, control the erosion of soil or levels of pollenisation; services for the supply of agricultural products and materials; cultural services based around identity values, education, aesthetic beauty, cultural heritage and so forth.

Specifically, projects entitled to subsidies must fall into one of these categories:

• Biodiversity: cleaning, reconstruction and maintenance of dry stone walls, slopes and edges; cultivation of local and/or native varieties; ownership of beehives, planting and maintenance of hedgerows on agricultural properties and borders with staggered flowering vegetation, plus biological control.
• Fire prevention: cleaning and pruning; grazing with animals.
• Agricultural infrastructure: renovation, cleaning and substitution of heritage elements; renovation or installation of elements for water systems; purchase and installation of renewable energies.
• Quality foods: conversion and maintenance of ecological certification for the property; organisations and reception of group visits and agricultural volunteer initiatives.
• Fertility and water: introduction of local mud into agricultural land in the park’s municipalities; implementation of design techniques for efficient water use; agri-woodland mosaic; crop rotation; recovery of plots for agricultural use; enclosure of plots for agricultural use; improvements to approach routes to properties and repair of paths.
• Social and labour impact: attendance at courses and meetings; women workers; legal figure for the SSE, and participation in a producers’ organisation.

Once applications have been made, and following an assessment of the properties and work to be carried out, the subsidies will be awarded to the chosen beneficiaries and validation given to the work decided on for production projects. Once the subsidised work is completed, properties will be visited again for the improvements to be assessed. Subsidised work must be completed in 2022.

The subsidy call is planned again for 2023, with the Collserola Natural Park Consortium to use its own budget.