• More than 120 young people from across the country participated in the "You Are Origin: New Ways to Add Value to Rural Areas" event.
• The key to keeping young people in their towns and building a future is an attractive rural environment with opportunities, communication services, and infrastructure.

"You are the origin." This was the opening statement of the webinar held on March 25, 2021, organized by the National Rural Network and aimed at students of rural-related professions. It was a dynamic and highly participatory event, attended by rural influencers , as well as beneficiaries of Rural Development Programs, who have decided to pursue and develop their lives in rural areas, sharing their experiences and daily lives.

In the words of Isabel Bombal, Director General of Rural Development, Innovation, and Agri-Food Training, "we must focus our attention on the source: on the rural environment, on food, and on the environment. In short, on everything around us, but especially on young people, because without young people there is no future."

Rural influencers

Miquel Montoro , a 14-year-old from Pagés, is one of the young influencers who participated in the webinar. Originally from Mallorca, he emphasized the importance of understanding and appreciating the work behind each food product; as well as supporting farmers and promoting local consumption : "To understand the rural environment, you have to get close to it." From a very young age, Miquel began to take an interest in agriculture, and little by little, through social media, he began to showcase what he was doing, raising awareness of the rural world.

"I struggle with finding different ways to make videos; farming is basically sowing, harvesting... and there comes a point where you don't know what to show. At home, we're always trying to do new things to show."

Laura Vallejo is another 100% rural influencer . Originally from Meira, a small town in the province of Lugo, Laura is one of the few forestry workers who operates a huge piece of machinery every day. Laura has over 16,000 followers on her Instagram profile.

"Nowadays, we find influencers who are dedicated to fashion and travel; we need people who show the reality of what the countryside is like, and people appreciate that."

Regarding training, Laura noted that they were somewhat underprivileged because "you either learned through family tradition" or there weren't many courses. However, she believes that significant progress is being made in this area and that specific courses are gradually being offered, for example on heavy machinery simulators, which help spark the interest of many young people who want to work in the fields.

Although she couldn't participate live, Lorena Guerra was also a featured speaker. She holds a degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Seville and wanted to share her experiences with young people in rural areas. Lorena seeks to raise awareness of women in the countryside because, as she says, there are still many stereotypes that need to be broken.

Lorena decided to start farming as a young woman out of personal vocation and family tradition. At the same time, she began posting photos of her daily life on social media, and this has led her to combine her two passions—fashion and farming—by creating her own clothing brand, LOREW, where her "little tractor" is her logo. According to Lorena, although there are more and more women in the sector, it still seems unusual to see a young woman as a farmer or driving a tractor.

"A piece of advice? My life motto is NOT ABOUT POWER, IT'S ABOUT WILLING. You have to fight for what you really want to do in life."

Good practices

The webinar "LIVING TO TELL ABOUT IT" featured Andrés Salinas and María Valdivieso, two young beneficiaries of Rural Development Programs who work in organic farming.

Andrés—who participated in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food's Young Farmers Visit Program to Model Farms —and owns a fruit and vegetable farm, encourages everyone to follow in his footsteps. “The most important thing is to be clear about what you want to do. Focus on something and be the best at it.”

María, a young woman and farmer, noted that women are gradually entering the primary sector, but we are required to be stronger, and once we have made a name for ourselves, we have to make our voices heard . Although the beginnings can be difficult, especially in organic production, she is very satisfied and proud of her work.

Also participating in the event were young people from rural areas, such as Moisés, who is very aware of the issue of depopulation and is currently developing a rural social network, Puebloo, with a group of friends .

In conclusion to the webinar, and regarding the question of what rural areas need to have to attract more people, especially young people, participants agreed that it is necessary to improve connectivity , infrastructure and services , as well as to promote culture in rural areas with specific projects that revitalize and promote the territory.