Secanos Vivos is a project coordinated by SEO/BirdLife, with the support of Fundación Biodiversidad, which started in July 2022 and aims to implement measures backed by science to promote wildlife and adaptation to climate change in rainfed cereal and vine crops on farms in Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Extremadura and Aragón, thus moving towards extensive, biodiverse and profitable rainfed agrosystems.
Rainfed agriculture, which depends on rainwater to irrigate crops, is a type of agrosystem with a long tradition in Spain, where cereals, vines, olives and nuts, among others, are grown. Currently, some of these same crops are irrigated with additional water inputs, which makes them more productive and profitable, but also less sustainable in terms of water resource management. This project seeks to generate profitability in rainfed lands, currently unprofitable and with great uncertainty as to their yields, through the valorization of their products, with a labeling system that shows the consumer that they have been produced favoring biodiversity and agricultural sustainability.
The project aims to promote cultivated and wild biodiversity through actions such as the installation of nest boxes for different species (owls, little owls, caracaras, jackdaws and passerine birds), as well as insect hotels and dry stone walls, in addition to revegetation with native wild species of borders, iron pits and other unproductive areas, to serve as shelter and food for various species. The expected results expect to find synergies between crops and wildlife, with auxiliary fauna having positive effects on the crop (such as pest control, with Great Bustard and Montagu’s Harrier, species that frequently nest in rainfed land).
In addition, Secanos Vivos also has an impact on land management. Thanks to the rotation with legumes, in the case of cereal farms, nitrogen is fixed from the atmosphere so that it is available for the next crop. Organic fertilization is also promoted to reduce the use of mineral fertilizers, and auxiliary fauna to reduce the use of phytosanitary products and pesticides. The reduction of inputs means a reduction in costs that increases the profitability of the farms.
The initiative will add value to raw materials and foodstuffs derived from grapes and cereals, achieving another of the project’s main objectives: to transform biodiversity into profitability for agriculture. To this end, these foods will have a specific seal, a mark that will help consumers distinguish products that have contributed to recovering biodiversity and climate resilience, following a scientifically endorsed method. A new impulse, moreover, to generate employment opportunities and wealth in the villages, helping to fix population in some of the most depopulated areas of the interior of the peninsula.
This Project arises and is developed in line with the main sustainability strategies proposed by the EU: the Farm to Table Strategy, through the promotion of short marketing channels, connecting producers and consumers; the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, thanks to crop diversification and increased biodiversity; the EU Pollinator Initiative, favoring their presence through the reduction of agrochemicals, which are also included among the environmental objectives of the new CAP (2023-2027); and finally, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, which includes the Soil Protection Strategy, by promoting resilient ecosystems, the Drylands Alive Project favors soil health and wild biodiversity.
In conclusion, the Secanos Vivos project not only represents a significant advance towards a more sustainable and profitable rainfed agriculture, but also aligns with the sustainability strategies of the European Union. By integrating innovative farming practices that promote biodiversity and climate resilience, and by providing a labeling system that highlights these efforts, Secanos Vivos sets a new standard in agricultural production. This approach seeks not only to revitalize rainfed land in Spain, but also to offer a replicable model for the future of agriculture throughout Europe, generating environmental, economic and social benefits in the most needy rural areas.
