The cooperatives Falset-Marçà, Agrícola de Cabacés and Vinícola del Priorat have joined forces to fight against the lack of generational prominence and raw materials. They consider these to be the great challenges for the future and pose a great threat to the continuity of the sector. To do this, they have designed a project that ranges from a 'test space', so that the youngest can test and evaluate the viability of agricultural activity, to actions to promote their products. In addition, they will carry out a study to analyze the profitability of the plots and to be able to guarantee the resilience of the olive and grape crops. This collaboration will also make it possible to reduce production costs, create energy communities or manage empty homes.
The initiative of the three cooperatives brings together six hundred members and farmers from seven municipalities in Priorat, that is, 25% of the region. They grow two of the star fruits of the Camp de Tarragona such as grapes and olives, raw materials, with which some of the bottles of DOP Siurana oil or the wines of the DOQ Priorat and DO Montsant are made, and add an annual turnover of about five million euros.
The cooperative members point out that, lately, climate change has caused a reduction in resources in the area and, with the aim of fighting against this shortage, the cooperatives of Falset-Marçà, Agrícola de Cabacés and Vinícola del Priorat will begin a profitability study of the agricultural plots. "We are beginning to worry a lot about the survival of these fruits in the coming years", lamented the manager of the Falset-Marçà Cooperative, Xavi Domènech, who also stressed the importance of joining efforts to "face the common challenges" of the territory".
Another of the shared problems is the lack of generational relief. The vice-president of the Falset-Marçà Cooperative, Robert Perelló, has highlighted the importance of the new 'test spaces', an initiative designed so that young people can test the trade before embarking. In fact, Perelló has assured that there are many who want to work the land, but the lack of resources or the fear of losing everything puts them back. Without members, however, in Falset-Marçà they warn that the cooperatives will end up losing their raison d'être and a solution must be found to the lack of new incorporations into the agricultural sector.
With the space-test proposal, the three cooperatives can hire those interested so that, for two or three years, they can start the activity, "evaluate their profitability and decide if they want to continue working in the sector or not," he added. Domenech.
Another of the objectives of the macro project is to work on the reduction of production costs. For this, each cooperative will focus on its products, and "its specialty", as stated by the president of Vinícola del Priorat, Ramon Grau. In this way, the Cabacés Agricultural Cooperative will produce the oil of the three cooperatives, while the grapes collected from the Priorat DOQ will go to the Priorat Winery or the Montsant DO will be produced in the facilities of the Falset-Marçà Cooperative .
On the other hand, they will work to increase the production of the Cabacés vineyards and create a new wine line with the differential organoleptic characteristics of this area of Priorat.
In the commercial field, the project also foresees the feasibility of jointly exporting the three brands: Ònix, Baronia de Cabacés and Ètim. At the same time, it is intended to promote the offer of wine tourism activities, as well as oil tourism. The head of communication of the Cooperativa Agrícola de Cabacés, Núria Bru, has defended that "oil is a very unknown product", that the entire production process can be shown to the public and make a place for it in the agricultural tourism sector. "We believe that there is a very important world to discover," she pointed out.
Finally, this cooperation project also seeks the creation of other services that favor the improvement of the quality of life of the residents of the Priorat region. For this reason, the desire is for each of the cooperatives to have an energy community, and manage them all together. This shared operation will also be transferred to a management plan for the empty homes they own, a proposal to respond to the lack of primary residences and regular homes in Priorat municipalities, where the vast majority are used for tourism.
