• The project will accept applications until December 20th.
• Seek out defined business ideas that promote the bioeconomy of rainfed ecosystems to offer them training and support.

Rainfed cereal and grape production is facing profitability challenges due to a number of factors, including climate change, high production costs, marketing challenges, and global competition. However, a large number of farmers still depend on these resources, and it is crucial to find new ways to create a sustainable model for them and the environment.

The “Secanos Vivos” project was born with the aim of transforming the production model to create a new one that provides added value. to the resulting products through two factors: increased biodiversity and climate resilience .

This objective has led, among other things, to the creation of an entrepreneurship program that carries out the revitalization work to create a sustainable economy. This is achieved through the support and consolidation of projects. that promote the bioeconomy of dryland ecosystems .

Rural entrepreneurship project

This project recruitment and support is carried out in a series of phases:

1. Project applications open: Projects can be submitted until December 20th via this link . Complete program information is available here .
2. Online welcome event (January 2024): 10 projects will be selected to support their development and consolidation.
3. Online group training (February-March 2024) : Six virtual courses will be held to explore business areas that support business ideas through specific topics:
   • Bioterritorial view
   • Value proposition
   • Prototyping the idea
   • Business and company plan
   • Communication and marketing
   • Sustainability and governance
4. Learning Communities (April-October 2024): 2 participatory sessions, 4 joint consultations, and a group trip, along with visits to key projects. All of this contributes to a collaborative learning process focused on research, knowledge generation, and deepening.
5. Coaching and mentoring (April-October 2024): In parallel, six individual and three joint mentoring sessions will serve as a driving force and initiative to begin shaping the idea for implementation.
6. Closing event (November 2024) : All entrepreneurial initiatives will be presented, and two of them will win a prize of 2,500 euros.

The training aims to provide students and entrepreneurs with new skills to create business lines and added value to generate quality green jobs in areas at risk of depopulation and economic decline. The program will also focus on strengthening rural-urban partnerships to provide solutions for potential consumers who are increasingly seeking alternatives with a positive environmental impact.

Assessment criteria

Entrepreneurial projects will be considered if their sector of activity is related to the "Secanos Vivos" project and values. The criteria are:

1. Commitment to the program
2. Defined business idea
3. Location in specific provinces
4. Incorporating project values
5. Location in a rural municipality with less than 5,000 inhabitants
6. Training, experience and/or relevant activities
7. Connection with a territory
8. Involvement of more than one person
9. Interest or experience in associations, networks or social entrepreneurship
10. Gender parity criteria in selected projects

You can consult the criteria in detail at the following link .

A map detailing all 30 farms associated with the "Live Secanos" agri-environmental scheme is available on the project website . They are spread across Castile and León, Aragon, Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura, and Andalusia, representing a representative selection of the distribution of dryland cereal and vineyard agrosystems in the country.

Questions can be asked to the organization by email at emprendimiento@secanosvivos.seo.org .

Partners and financing

The project is coordinated by the Spanish Ornithological Society ( SEO/Birdlife ). It also includes a multidisciplinary scientific committee comprised of the Center for Studies and Research on Agricultural and Environmental Risk Management ( CEIGRAM ) of the Polytechnic University of Madrid ; the Institute for Research on Game Resources ( IREC ), which is part of the CSIC , UCLM , and JCCLM ; and the Financial Economics Research Group ( GIECOFIN ) of the University of Zaragoza.

Secanos Vivos is funded by the Biodiversity Foundation , which is dependent on the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge ( MITECO ) within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan ( PRTR ), funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU .