Valencian Organic Farming. Diagnosis of the Sector and Evaluation of Regional Policies through Participatory Actionresearch

Abstract

Organic farming has advanced significantly in various Spanish regions, with contrasting characteristics and dynamics, and facing different obstacles. This is a key sector in terms of its capacity to dynamize Spanish agriculture and reinforce the implementation of European policies of ecological transition. This work is a participatory research action that aims, on the one hand, to develop a general diagnosis of organic agriculture in the Valencian Community, in order to identify problems, interconnections between factors and agents, possible solutions and barriers to its implementation. On the other hand, the work performs an analysis of the efficiency of public policies to support the sector developed in the last decade. These objectives were addressed through the creation of mental model maps, based on semi-structured interviews and two workshops with the participation of a wide group of agents
representing all the groups involved in the evolution of the sector. The results allow us to outline a complete diagnosis of the sector that highlights some structural deficiencies of Valencian agriculture, identifies specific problems of the agroecological sector and analyzes the contrast between the dynamics of rainfed and irrigated areas. It also shows the level of performance of public policies, identifying strengths and weaknesses, among which the problems in growing domestic demand stand out.