Promoting Diversification on Balearic Farms

The programme rewards practices that enhance soil, biodiversity and the landscape

What does it consist of?

A publicly funded initiative has supported hundreds of farms in Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera for their work in landscape and biodiversity conservation. The programme has invested more than €1.1 million with the aim of building a more sustainable agroecological farming model.

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Data

PROJECT TITLE IN THE CALL
Boosting diversification of crops in traditional sustainable operations in the Balearic Islands
LOCATION
Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera
Entity submitting the PROJECT
Govern de les Illes Balears
Entity that executes the project
Fons de Garantia Agrària i Pesquera de les Illes Balears (FOGAIBA)
Project code
ITS2016-008
Total project amount
1.500.000 €
ITS granted amount
1.500.000 €
Executed amount
1.148.459 €
Call year
2016
Budget implementation status
Executed
Purpose
Environment
Budget execution
Executed: 76.56%
Last updated
30.06.2019

The project

The Balearic Islands’ economic landscape is dominated by tourism and the service sector. This means that, despite their historical relevance, crop and livestock farming have been relegated to a secondary role. However, many farms are still active, maintaining a relationship with the land that has far-reaching environmental, social and cultural implications.

This is the premise behind a project to promote crop diversification on traditional farms, spearheaded by the Balearic Government through FOGAIBA (Balearic Islands Agricultural and Fisheries Guarantee Fund). The aim was twofold: to compensate for the environmental services that small and medium-sized farms provide free of charge—from pollination to organic fertilisation—and to promote farming practices conducive to a sustainable farm model.

The initiative, which benefited from €1.5 million of sustainable tourism tax funds, ran from 2016 to 2017. Support was particularly targeted at polyculture and extensive livestock systems, which are key to preventing rural deterioration. The project also recognised the role of unseen actors such as beekeepers, whose activities are essential to ecological balance.

This type of action serves to highlight the positive external impacts of traditional farms beyond their direct economic production. In a context of climate change and biodiversity loss, commitment to this farming model not only seeks to advance this sector, but also proposes a coherent conservation strategy for the islands.