The agri-food industry, crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) established by the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda, is one of the industrial engines of the Spanish economy. Not surprisingly, it contributes 10% to Spanish GDP and represents 13.9% of employment, with more than 2.5 million jobs. Hence, the sector is called upon to play not only a relevant role in the sustainable growth of the Spanish economy in the long term, but also in the fight against depopulation, in promoting the rural environment and in the conservation of biodiversity. Sustainability, then, is no longer just an option, but an unavoidable transformation that also becomes a tangible opportunity for growth.
The sector is not turning its back on this reality. The area devoted to organic production is increasing. In 2021 it grew by 8%, reaching 2.6 million hectares, which represents 10.79% of the total agricultural area, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Jordi Sevilla Martínez, head of the Agro Segment of BBVA in Catalonia, spoke about sustainability, its challenges and the new business models that arise from it; Ernest Mas, Crops Manager at Verdcamp Fruits; Juan Carlos Cirera, director of Riet Vell; and Víctor Viñuales, executive director of Ecodes. The conclusion of all the attendees is that the commitment to sustainability is unavoidable and, although the path is not without difficulties, it is worth traveling. “Not being sustainable can end up being very expensive; investing in sustainability is investing in the feasibility of the project”, stated Sevilla.
The sustainable agri-food entrepreneur is no longer swimming against the current, "now he is sailing with the winds in his favor", said the representative of Ecodes. In his opinion, these winds are the regulation, increasingly punitive, that will corner unsustainable production models, economic incentives, such as the 140,000 million euros from European Next Generation funds, and private financing that also plays the role of league of sustainability, in addition to the fact that the employees of the agri-food industries themselves feel better if their company combines the creation of their own value with the creation of value for society.
BBVA, which has made sustainability a pillar of its strategy, knows how to finance and support companies in the sector. "We want to be an ally to channel and at the same time multiply the effect of European funds," said Sevilla. The objective of the entity is to help its clients in their "transformation towards a more digital, sustainable and inclusive future". To do this, it makes available to companies specific financing solutions adapted to each sector, as well as digital tools and professional advice so that they can make the best decision. For a long time, he added,
BBVA is clear that its role goes beyond financing. "The objective is to promote change," he declared, but not before stressing the importance of giving visibility to SMEs and the self-employed whose businesses can serve as inspiration to the rest of the Spanish productive fabric.
This strategy of publicizing inspiring examples is part of the Awards for the Best Sustainable Producers promoted by the entity and which are now in their fourth edition. These awards recognize those ranchers, farmers and food producers who are committed to a production model that contributes to sustainable development. Together with Celler de Can Roca and with Ecodes as a member of the jury, 10 projects will receive awards whose product will form part of a recipe prepared by the Roca brothers with seasonal ingredients and which will place them on the map of the best sustainable producers in Spain. Up to now, and in the three previous editions, BBVA has already put 26 producers on that map of excellence. The period to register for this edition is open until May 26.
Among the winners in previous editions are Riet Vell and Verdcamp Fruits. The first is a company created in 2001 by SEO/BirdLife, one of the main environmental organizations in Spain. After carrying out a project in the Ebro Delta to assess the viability of organic rice cultivation, the NGO promoted the creation of Riet Vell, which has its own autonomy and partners. Verdcamp Fruits, for its part, is a family business now led by the fifth generation, a fact that, in the words of Ernest Mas, "is in itself a sustainable fact". In the DNA of this company from Cambrils is research and innovation towards "sustainable models, with less environmental impact and better social impact".
Having been awarded the Best Sustainable Producers Awards is a source of great satisfaction for both Juan Carlos Cirera and Ernest Mas. "And that satisfaction translates into energy to continue doing beautiful and positive things, to do it better," said the representative of Verdcamp Fruits. The director of Riet Vell expressed himself in similar terms: "Recognition gives you impetus and contributes to the conviction that we are on the right track." These awards, added Cirera, help to keep up the spirit to continue fighting and overcome the difficulties that, at this time, are not few. After the pandemic, the war in Ukraine brought an increase in energy costs and a rise in inflation and, now, the sector is suffering from the effects of the drought.
Nobody beats Cirera in spirit and encouraged other producers to work in this line because it is not only the future, but it is "a viable and rewarding path." Along the same lines, Mas considered this visibility that the awards give both to the consumer and to the sector itself necessary, so that he can verify that transformation is possible. “Things can be difficult, but if they are not done they will be impossible, because we are risking the future of our health, the planet and our business,” he explained.
As the producers recounted, the path is not easy. Beginning because until now "it was more profitable to pollute than to do things better", according to Mas, and ending with the social value of sustainability, a word that, by using it so much, runs the risk of seeing its meaning distorted. Luckily, for the manager of Verdcamp Frutis, the value of doing better is beginning to enjoy good consideration. Elaborating on this idea, Cirera celebrated that more and more people are aware and willing to know what is behind each product, to separate the wheat from the chaff, but given the difficulties that small projects have to show their good work, he advocated create a context and a favorable environment so that the consumer can exercise their free choice having all the information.
So, is being sustainable compatible with being profitable? The unanimous answer was a huge yes, although Sevilla reflected on whether the correct question would not be whether not being sustainable ends up being expensive. “Sustainability has ceased to be an opportunity to become a reality”, she explained, to then state that sustainability becomes essential in day-to-day life, in decision-making for any project with long-term viability. "All companies must invest in their sustainable and technological transformation," he stressed. For the Verdcamp fruits Crops Manager, sustainability is the best lever for the future.
Being sustainable also offers competitive advantages that Viñuales summarized in three S's: safety, health and satisfaction. As for the first, that, in his view, acting in terms of sustainability gives a more secure future, with fewer risks that, either the market or regulation, leave one out of the game. With regard to health, it occurs in a triple dimension: for the planet, "very necessary"; for human beings, and for the workers themselves. And what to say about satisfaction, nothing like knowing that you are improving the value of your company and, at the same time, improving the world.
In the opinion of the executive director of Ecodes, there is a pentagon of success to accelerate change. One vertex is public policy, reasonable but powerful; another, the financial entities, which must push and support the sector; the third, the companies themselves, with a clear commitment to transformation; the fourth, consumers, since their determination is essential; and fifth and last, the media, giving visibility to the good examples and good practices that are working.
Sustainability projects give life to the territory and favor generational renewal in the Spanish agri-food sector, another of the great challenges of this economic activity. The new generations, more technologically savvy, are changing everything. Young people, according to Viñuales, not only contribute innovation in production, but also in the connection of the agri-food ecosystem, connecting production, marketing and consumers. And that, he said, is very important, "because it will not only be the farmer or rancher who resolves the issue." "One alone is not going to make it, that is why the sustainable agri-food ecosystem is essential and, in this scenario, the digital world holds the key," added the Ecodes manager.
But there are no longer one, two or three who, fortunately, are committed to sustainability. Thanks to sustainable business initiatives, from the smallest to the largest, in the agri-food sector, as the head of the Agro Segment of BBVA in Catalonia was in charge of emphasizing, "we are already moving from words to action".
