Good morning,
I congratulate you for your contributions, they are very interesting.
I send you a reflection in relation to the issues with which we are working from Spain. I hope it will be of interest to you.
Best regards
The rural world is closer than we think.
If we open our fridge or our pantry, we find a wide variety of fresh foods that come from our fields. We talk about “farm to table” because that's the way it is. Farmers are able to produce excellent fresh produce thanks to the best plant material, together with the soil and climatic conditions of our land and an exquisite treatment of the land where it is produced, under the unquestionable framework of food safety.
The process of obtaining fruits and vegetables is not immediate, it requires time, tenacity and care for several months, even years, depending on the type of crop in question. These Spanish products are part of the Mediterranean Diet, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010. This scenario does not only refer to the food itself, but encompasses a culture, an environmental, economic and social benefit in our rural world.
It is important to know how the food we eat is produced. Our farmers do an extraordinary job, not only in food production, but as a rural population, they participate in the sustainability of the environment and the local economy. However, they need a generational replacement.
Spain has an aging population: data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food show that only 16% of the total Spanish population lives in rural areas, i.e. some 7.5 million people are registered in 84% of Spain's geographical area. What does this figure mean? That we must strive to improve the quality of life of people living in rural areas, we must seek multidisciplinary strategies to maintain our origins and continue to produce the best food.
One of the strategies focuses on young people, for this, we must convince them of the benefits of living in the countryside, providing them with quality education. In this context, STEM/STEAM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and art) are offered as current tools to make rural education attractive, providing valuable and exclusive educational resources, creating vocations capable of becoming professionals in the rural environment itself.
The rural world offers us a healthier vision of our own professional activity. It is a key sector in the national economy.
PhD Cristina Lucini Baquero.
Agricultural Engineer
Faculty of Sciences and Arts
Catholic University of Avila
Dr. Cristina Lucini