March 6, 2023.—The Viver Cooperative is joining the training program for young farmers promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food.

Rosa Ana is a 35-year-old farmer from Albacete who recently spent a few days at the Viver Cooperative as part of the CULTIVA Program, developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAPA) to train young farmers in farm management. Rosa Ana chose the Viver Cooperative for her stay because of the similarity to her own crops (olive trees, almond trees, and grapevines), so that upon her return she could quickly put what she had learned into practice. This young farmer cultivates 30 hectares in a small town in Albacete with the help of her mother, having taken over the farm from her grandparents and father. Generational succession is precisely the major challenge facing the primary sector; that is why the Ministry of Agriculture promotes initiatives, such as the CULTIVA Program, to encourage and enable young people to pursue careers in agriculture and livestock farming. The program’s objective, carried out in collaboration with the National Rural Network, “is to offer young farmers and ranchers practical training at model host farms through training stays, where they have the opportunity to acquire and consolidate on-site knowledge of technical and management aspects that they can apply in the development of their own agricultural activities.” The training stays, which last between 5 and 14 days, take place on “real, active farms that serve as models in terms of innovation, production resources, business model, or social and environmental characteristics.” During their training period, young farmers spend 7 hours a day learning about the various aspects of running a farm, from fieldwork to planning and economic and financial management, as well as the use of digital technologies.