More than 130 high school students from five schools on the island approached the countryside this Thursday as a possible future career option at the first Sembra Futur Forum, organized by the environmental foundation IbizaPreservation as part of the Ibiza and Formentera Producen program. The meeting took place at the Cultural Center of Puig d’en Valls and was supported by the Balearic Government, the Consell de Ibiza, the City Council of Santa Eulària, the cooperative Ecofeixes-Agroeivissa, Carn&Coop and the educational center CIEF Can Marines.
Students from IES Sa Blanca Dona, IES Algarb, IES Sa Colomina, Liceo Francés Internacional de Ibiza and CIEF Can Marines participated in a day designed to show that the local primary sector can offer real opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship, while helping to recover the agricultural landscape, curb the loss of biodiversity and strengthen the food sovereignty of the Pitiusas.
IbizaPreservation explains that the forum is part of its work to strengthen the primary sector and promote local consumption. The coordinator of the Ibiza and Formentera Producen program, Jordi Salewski, stressed that the aim is for young people to discover the possibilities for personal and professional development offered by the countryside on the islands, beyond the traditional image of agriculture and livestock.
The director of the foundation, Inma Saranova, who led the event, insisted on the importance of “sowing vocations” linked to the territory and sustainability. She recalled that today the countryside is also innovation and technology, and that it can become an employment option aligned with collective welfare and environmental protection.
Young leaders in the field
The program of the Sembra Futur Forum combined testimonies of young farmers and ranchers from different parts of Spain with local experiences. The idea was to offer references close in age to the students, showing the current reality of the primary sector and its challenges.
Among the speakers was Elena Burillo, sheep farmer and agri-food engineer from Aragon, who told how she decided to return to the family farm and how social networks have opened new opportunities for collaboration with brands in the agri-food sector. Also spoke Marc Miralles, organic farmer and regenerative Tarragona, who warned about the lack of generational replacement and defended the importance of supporting the quality product of Spanish origin to avoid excessive dependence on imports.
The organic viticulturist Miren Cárcar shared her experience at the head of the family winery and focused on the contribution of women to the field. She defended a sustainable production model based on traditional organic farming techniques and recalled that, although for years they have been less visible, women have always been present in agricultural work.
Proximity vocations
The forum also gave voice to Ibizan protagonists. Veterinarian and livestock farmer
Also participated Josan Aguiló, organic farmer and vice president of the cooperative Agroeivissa-Ecofeixes, an example of a career successfully reconverted to the rural world; Pedro Asensio, head of the agricultural professional family of CIEF Can Marines, who detailed the training available on the island; and Adrian Pardo Ferrer, student of this center, who encouraged his peers to give a chance to the field and pursue their dreams.
The day ended with an interactive ‘quiz’ in which students tested the knowledge acquired throughout the morning. The winners received baskets of local and organic products prepared by the cooperative Agroeivissa-Ecofeixes, a practical way to reinforce the message of support for local consumption.
From IbizaPreservation they are confident that the Sembra Futur Forum will consolidate as a stable space to awaken vocations linked to the territory, sustainability and the future of the countryside in the Pitiusas. “Sustainability is not only a value, it can also be a profession,” summarized Saranova, recalling that in Ibiza there are real opportunities to study, undertake and work in the primary sector.
