Researchers Ana Santidrián and Edurne Caballero, promoters of the project "Biela y Tierra", have been touring Spain by bicycle since 2019 to learn about and document agroecological initiatives that promote food sovereignty, that is, the ability of a territory to produce a significant part of the food it consumes in a sustainable way and with less dependence on external resources. In these years they have traveled more than 8,000 kilometers and visited more than 400 projects. One article in Diario.es explains in depth the experience of the two activists.
For two months they have traveled the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera), a particularly vulnerable territory because it imports between 85% and 90% of the food it consumes. According to them, this dependence means that the islands' food supply is highly dependent on energy, maritime transport and global markets.
Throughout the trip they have visited agricultural farms, livestock farms and community initiatives that try to reduce this dependence through agroecological practices. These projects aim to take advantage of local resources, regenerate the soil, reuse organic matter, combine agriculture and livestock farming and sell the products through short marketing circuits.
The researchers highlight that these experiences demonstrate that another way of producing food is viable. That is why they affirm that food sovereignty “is not a utopia”: the projects work, produce and sell their products. The main problem is not technical, but rather that these initiatives still have little weight within the dominant food system.
The article also points out that the economic model of the Balearic Islands is strongly conditioned by tourism, which increases the price of land, increases pressure on water and displaces agricultural activity. This makes it difficult for agroecological projects to grow and transform the food system in a significant way.
In addition, the news highlights three major physical limits that condition the food future of the islands: water, fertile soil and marine resources. These factors force us to rethink the way we produce and consume food in a territory with limited resources.
In conclusion, the report shows that in the Balearic Islands there are already alternatives capable of strengthening resilience and local food production. However, for them to have a real impact, more political, economic and social support would be needed to allow them to be expanded and reduce the strong external dependence that currently characterizes the archipelago.
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