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20 | M | City

The city’s
backyard These fields are closer to Barcelona
than you might guess.
The Parc Agrari is the last local hold out of traditional
farming techniques. By Stefana Serafina.
Photos by Suzannah Larke.

E
ven long-time Barcelona residents to protect the agricultural tradition as a techniques using less spraying and minimal
may have never suspected that just on cultural treasure. Now, more than a decade amounts of pesticides, as well as modernis-
the rim of the city’s dense urban area, after its establishment, Parc Agrari is re- ing existing irrigation channels and help-
along the Llobregat River’s delta, lie fertile garded globally as an impressive example of ing farmers sell what they grow. As a result,
fields that have supplied the city with fresh sustainable ‘periurban’ farming. instead of losing the farmlands to an ever-
fruits and vegetables for centuries. Just five “We continue to have visitors from all con- growing city, the Baix Llobregat park area
kilometres south of Barcelona, the rich soil— tinents,” Sonia Callau, the head of the Uni- today encompasses nearly 3,000 hectares of
complemented by abundant sunshine, mild tat d’Espais Agraris (Agrarian Spaces Unit) cultivated land and continues year-round to
temperatures and the proximity of the Medi- at the park told Metropolitan. “Experts from put fresh lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage,
terranean Sea—has long established the Llo- Japan, China and many other countries come cauliflower, and a profusion of fruits on Bar-
bregat valley as a farmer’s paradise. Farm- to learn from our experience and apply it in celona’s tables.
ing began to evolve in this area some 6,000 their own projects.” The king of the Llobregat valley is the
years ago, and by the 1800s three-quarters of In a ground-breaking collaboration be- artichoke. About 25 percent of the park’s
the lands in the delta were being farmed. In tween government, experts and farmers, a farmed lands are covered by this crop. In
the Thirties, the fruit and vegetable harvest large consortium was created to manage the a joint research effort with the Universitat
achieved its highest levels of export to the park, with representatives from farmers’ Politècnica de Catalunya, the Agrarian Park
rest of Europe. groups, ajuntaments and the Generalitat. is working to improve the quality of the arti-
This idyllic landscape was so greatly af- The protection of the farmlands from urban chokes. “It’s my favorite crop to grow,” said
fected by urban sprawl and industrial ex- and industrial pressures were, by necessity, Joan Ribas, a 55-year-old farmer. “It has
pansion in the second half of the last centu- the park’s chief concerns. But in the face of such a long cycle, it can be harvested from
ry, however, that the area’s ancient farming an increasingly globalised produce market December until May.”
tradition was threatened with extinction. In and financial uncertainty, a central mission Ribas is the heir of a family with a long
response, the Parc Agrari de Baix Llobregat has developed of providing farmers with farming tradition, which has lived on these
(the lower Llobregat Agricultural Park) was tools and strategies to remain competitive. lands since the 1600s. Like his ancestors,
created, in 1998, as a large-scale agro-en- Researchers and land experts have been he and his brothers have been working the
vironmental project with a clear mandate working to introduce eco-friendly farming fields since they were boys. He remembers

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20-21.city's backyard-4.indd 22 22/1/09 14:22:39


| |
City M 21

A range of vegetables, including tomatoes


(above) are grown in the Parc, but the king
crop is the artichoke (right).

a time about 30 years ago when he could crop-to-crop, which could save a lot of water, kilometres away,” said Ribas.
drive his tractor loaded with fresh produce irrigating only as much as is needed. Drip ir- With that concern in mind, the park’s
straight to El Born, Barcelona’s old central rigation has already been put into practice management has taken on another crucial
market. Now urban development has come to in the park’s arboretum—a designated terri- initiative: to promote its distinctive quality
his farm’s door. The landscape has changed: tory where traditional fruit tree varieties are and origin brand, ‘Producte FRESC del Parc
busy motorways cross Baix Llobregat’s farm- being preserved. The arboretum maintains Agrari’. Some farmers have already begun to
lands, the nearby airport sends planes flying a collection of 62 rare varieties of apples, label their produce with the brand’s logo, in-
above the orchards and industries have built dicating that it was grown respecting natural
their factories in the surrounding area, once rhythms, resulting in tastier, more nutritional
occupied by marsh and wilderness. The high- and fresher produce from a nearby farm. As a
speed rail line, taking passengers from Barce- part of the promotion effort, restaurants that
lona to Madrid, also passes through the park,
damaging soil, crops and natural balance.
Farming began to buy produce from the park are also beginning
to use the logo on their menus, and a web-
For farmers like Ribas, surviving in a evolve in this area site has been set up to list all the locations
changing environment has long been an eve-
ryday task. “You never know what the next
some 6,000 years ago... in Barcelona and its metropolitan area where
the produce can be found.
day will bring. You depend on the weather, In an attempt to further encourage Bar-
the wind and the rainfall.” celona’s residents to choose fresh and local,
For Ribas, there’s no secret to farming over other alternatives, the park’s manage-
other than learning to pay attention to the plums, grapes, olives, peaches, figs and other ment is designing tours to the park, which
“language” of the land and the crops day-to- fruit trees traditionally cultivated in these will educate visitors about the history of
day. Like many other farmers in this area, he lands and now under threat of extinction. the ecosystem and allow them to see farm-
has been faced with water scarcity. The his- The garden also serves as a demonstration ers at work. Each year, hundreds of students
toric irrigation channels still do a great job field for applying eco-farming techniques for from Barcelona’s metropolitan area are al-
distributing water from the river, but it isn’t soil disinfection and fighting pests. ready learning about crops, soil and plant-
enough. A couple of years ago, the Catalan While some of the produce grown on the ing, thanks to the park’s educational youth
government and the EU invested in a new park’s lands is still being transported to programmes.
water treatment plant. But the water recy- France and Italy, most of it doesn’t go fur-
cled there proved too saline for the crops. ther than nearby Mercabarna, Barcelona’s
This year, a smaller plant is being built to vast wholesale market. “The thing is, once
reduce salinity, but farmers like Ribas still our produce gets mixed in with the rest on More info:
don’t find the system truly effective. the markets, buyers have no way of knowing www.diba.es/parcagrari
A new irrigation alternative is also be- which fruits and veggies came from Chile, A list of locations where produce from the park is sold
ing explored: a drip irrigation system, used which from Kenya and which from just a few can be found on this website: www.elcampacasa.com

Are you managing?


Today, more than ever, you need the essential skills and knowledge that our Professional Certificate
in Management provides. A one year, flexible distance learning qualification which can also lead
on to our globally accredited MBA.
Information Session in Barcelona, 19 February, 18.00 – 20.00 (see website for details)

m.wiggett@open.ac.uk
www.open.ac.uk/spain

BARCELONA METROPOLITAN – February 2009

20-21.city's backyard-4.indd 23 22/1/09 14:22:56

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