Palou Strategic Plan - La Mimosa Program

The Palou Strategic Plan is a strategic instrument that defines the vision of an agricultural area in relation to the city over a 10-year horizon. It includes proposals for reactivating production capacity, promoting agroecological production and short marketing channels. It was elaborated through a participatory process that lasted about a year, with the participation of about 25 people representing the territory (owners, producers, young people, experts, technicians, etc.). In the metropolitan context, the fact of betting on the preservation and dynamization of a periurban agricultural space so stressed urbanistically is very relevant. This plan includes among its implementation actions the program "La Mimosa", an inclusive project of agroecological consumption promoted by the City Council of Granollers and the participation of the Red Cross and the association of consumers and producers La Magrana Vallesana. It is expected that vulnerable families can access more easily to the consumption of organic products and move towards a more sustainable and healthy diet.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Dedicated strategy, plan, or law

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Water management (e.g. reuse)
Drought and fire risk
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Social cohesion
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

This action helps to protect the last rural surface of Granollers and allows to address the challenge of the local green economy and the connectivity of the fluvial ecosystem with the agricultural one. In turn, the Palou strategic plan and its programs provide ecosystemic benefits by promoting the cultural use and environmental improvement of this strategic rural area for the municipality of Granollers.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

Good practice characteristics:

Effective

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Policy business case

Inclusivity

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

Several representative areas were defined for the definition of the instrument and representatives from each area were invited to participate in the process of defining the Plan. The selected areas were: -Technicians and politicians: members of the Granollers City Council, of the Autonomous Government, Barcelona Provincial Council and individual local experts. Socio-economic agents: farmers, landowners, restaurants, neighborhood association, local council, young people. A total of 23 representatives from each area were invited to participate in the 5 sessions developed for the definition of the Strategic Plan.

Involvement of non-governmental actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private sector, corporate, business

Citizens or community groups / NGOs

Type of actor involvement:

Co-planning or co-design of instrument (e.g. boards, advisory role)

Expert task force consultation

Civil society consultation through e.g. workshops, surveys, etc.

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

Each of the 25 actions proposed in the plan is duly characterized. One of the fields of characterization are the agents involved, which vary according to each action. In addition, the status of implementation of the planned actions is periodically reported publicly.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Co-design of NBS, implemented by government

Implementation of NBS (e.g. with government funds)

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs, NGOs, etc.

Financing

Sources of funding:

Corporate investment

Grants from regional, state or European funds that may have been awarded for the implementation of certain actions.

Budget:

50 000€ - 100 000€

Details about instrument financing:

50,000 to 100,000 euros per year

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Yes

Yes, there is a technician responsible for the implementation of the plan who evaluates its implementation on an ongoing basis. The results are periodically reported to the municipal monitoring tool of the PAM (Municipal Action Program). https://pam.granollers.cat/@@pam_scopes_view

Did an evaluation take place?:

Yes

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

Increased production of local and agro-ecological food. -Opening of new marketing channels: local markets, stores, direct sales... Increased awareness of the population about the importance of local products and peri-urban agricultural space. -Pilot project for access to healthy food for vulnerable people. -Increased awareness and public use of the periurban rural space.

Success factors and lessons learned:

Political support, participation of different socioeconomic actors and policy continuity. One lesson learned during the process is that it is necessary to broaden the view of the agricultural sector in the metropolitan context. In addition to its environmental, territorial or productive component, it is important to consider its role in the local food system as a whole (consumption, public health, education, food sovereignty, right to healthy food). in this way, these spaces can be reclaimed as part of the green infrastructure for the city. In addition, networking and the involvement of actors from different areas of the food system can bring very satisfactory results.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Granollers city council (2022), Pla estratègic de Palou: preservació i dinamització del paisatge agrari i l'economia local, available in: granollers.cat/productesdepalou/pla

Further documents

Weblinks:

https://wp.granollers.cat/productesdepalou/

http://www.llavorsvallesoriental.cat/inici/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdcp9KOLJks

Photos

@V. Planas