The campaign as a state affair

For decades, the Common Agrarian Policy (CAP) has been the main support of the Spanish countryside. It guaranteed minimum incomes and ensured stability. Without the CAP, a large part of rural Europe would have been much more abandoned. But the CAP was born to support production, and not to ensure generational change. Today, anyone who wants to join this sector finds themselves in an unattractive situation: a high initial investment and uncertain profitability. Youth integration measures are insufficient and unequal between territories. They partly compensate for the effort, but they do not build a stable life project.

The underlying problem is that food production is no longer the sole function of the primary sector. Farmers and breeders manage the territory, conserve the landscapes, etc. However, many of these functions, essential to society as a whole, are not fully recognized. More and more demands are being made on rural areas, but fewer and fewer certainties are being offered to them. In this context, a change of approach is necessary. It is not a question of replacing the CAP, but of supplementing it with a long-term structural vision. One of the strongest proposals is to recognize agricultural and livestock activities as cultural heritage. This proposal aims to recognize grazing and consider these activities as fundamental public goods for the territorial and food balance of the country. This recognition is part of the “One Health” approach, which assumes that human health depends on functional ecosystems and food systems capable of sustaining themselves economically and ecologically in the long term. Regenerative agriculture, in this context, is not presented as an isolated technique, but as a lever for public policy. Spain has the legal framework to move in this direction. Heritage legislation makes it possible to protect living activities, and not just monuments. There are already precedents, such as the recognition of transhumance. The next step consists of transforming this recognition into an active policy with real economic, fiscal and social effects. One of the most relevant elements of this new approach is the shift from policies focused on compliance with practices towards models based on results. It is not a question of demanding how it is produced, but of promoting what is obtained: soil conservation, improvement of biodiversity, etc.

The potential impact is significant. From an economic point of view, heritage recognition makes it possible to diversify income through the promotion of products or rural tourism. From a tax point of view, it opens the door to tools currently underused in the agricultural sector: bonuses in rural IBI, advantages in family transfers and inheritances. These are structural instruments that reduce entry barriers for young people and facilitate family continuity on farms. But the greatest value of this proposal lies in its impact on generational change. When an agricultural activity is recognized as heritage, the young person who joins ceases to be a simple beneficiary of aid and becomes the custodian of a collective asset. France, Switzerland and Italy have already moved in this direction, combining heritage recognition, payment for ecosystem services and promotion of quality products linked to the territory. Models that the FAO already recognizes at the international level and that Spain must extend to its national policy. The result is not a more rigid sector, but rather more profitable and better integrated into the local economy.

The ratification of the EU-Mercosur agreement threatens to transform the European primary sector into a commodity. Declaring agriculture and livestock breeding as living heritage is not protectionism, but a strategy to differentiate yourself. This would change the regulatory framework, reward outcomes such as soil health and climate resilience, protect economic supports, and ensure generational change in the face of industrial imports that cannot replicate our cultural and environmental excellence. For this vision to work, it must be integrated into a strategic generational relief plan that combines stable economic aid and tax incentives. Generational change is not just a problem in the agricultural sector. It is a national challenge. Agriculture and livestock are not only economic activities; They are part of Spain’s living heritage. And heritage that is not maintained, recognized and transmitted is lost.