Catalan Strategy for Generational Replacement in the agri-food sector

By project ORIGINN

Published on 07 February 2025

Spain

Cataluña

About this good practice

The Catalan strategy for generational replacement in the agri-food sector, approved on April 11, 2023, by the Catalan Government, aims to support entrepreneurial young individuals with viable agri-food projects. It is coordinated by the Secretary of Rural Agenda of the Catalan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food. The strategy addresses the sector’s critical generational shift, influenced by social, economic, environmental, and cultural factors.

A territorial diagnosis highlighted the urgency of retaining and attracting young farmers, making it a strategic priority for rural areas. The five-year action plan (2023-2027) tackles this through five key challenges and 48 targeted actions, structured around five priority value chains: proximity, diversity, innovation, renewal, and confidence.

The strategy facilitates the integration of young entrepreneurs, regardless of prior experience, provided they have a sustainable agricultural project. It offers tailored tools for different profiles and ensures coordinated support for generational replacement, fostering economically, socially, and environmentally viable agricultural models.

Resources needed

The strategy will be implemented through a policy mix based on different programmes under the Catalan actions within the EAFRD. No specific amount has been estimated since several actions will be developed throughout the period without an ex-ante closed budget

Evidence of success

The results cannot yet be evaluated, since it is an ongoing instrument. Nonetheless, the strategy's indicators can be monitored through the results of its independent actions; for example, the report for the pilot plan for the mentorship programme, which will soon be implemented, will be available as soon as the programme closes.

Potential for learning or transfer

This strategy has been shaped with a close link to the challenges of the territory and the agents that are driving the generational replacement in the agrifood in Catalonia. Nonetheless, many of the challenges addressed by this strategy relate to the needs of numerous EU territories. Therefore, many of the objectives and initiatives that are foreseen and/or being implemented can be of the interest of stakeholders across Europe, especially in rural areas.