No abstract

In Europe, Social Farming (SF) and agritourism are multifunctional agriculture activities that arise when agricultural land is abandoned in rural and peri-urban areas; it is difficult to develop commercial agriculture if it is not intensive. In our research, we studied SF in Catalonia, carrying out a census and classification of 161 initiatives and a more in-depth analysis of 10 projects (or 9 in some cases), identifying their viability and the economic, social, and environmental return on investment (SROI) for the resources used in each case. The methodology included questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and Canvas and SROI analyses. Although SF has developed in many European countries, it is incipient in the Iberian Peninsula. The projects in Catalonia combine agrarian activity, socio-health care and social policies, with the aim of offering innovative solutions to the needs of different groups at risk of social exclusion.

Although social farming (SF) has been a successful endeavor in Catalonia over the last 30 years, it has not been visible for part of society, which is largely unaware of its existence. Nevertheless, this study has demonstrated after studying five cases that the social return on investment (SROI) has been significant in rural areas. In this study, five in-depth interviews were carried out, and a general questionnaire was sent to 161 SF projects in Catalonia with a view to analyzing the participation of stakeholders and the returns they have achieved. The SROI method and the benefits to different stakeholders are concisely described. Our main foci are people at risk of social exclusion, their families, and the project promoters, but we also believe it is essential to analyze the administration of projects and the settings in which they take place. It is calculated that there is a social, economic, and environmental return on investment in terms of the benefits to the territory’s sustainable local development at an approximate proportion of three euros for every euro invested. Without a doubt, SF can help to support proximity agriculture, thus favoring its development and viability.

The so-called "Green Revolution" has marginalized and depopulated many rural areas, but economic diversication has emerged since the 1980s. Consumer appreciation for organic farming and proximity sourcing has increased, and farmers have responded to this market. Since 2008 the economic crisis has led to importation of low-quality food products at an unsustainable level of energy costs, and the lack of employment opportunity has led people to seek economic opportunities in the countryside, producing foods with ecological criteria for short food supply chains. Within this scenario, Social Farming (SF) has appeared as a multifunctional innovative strategy. It gives a return to society through the production and processing of agricultural products by incorporating direct social benets in employment, training, and therapy or rehabilitation of groups at risk of social exclusion. SF offers social cohesion, empowerment of vulnerable groups, local development in rural and peri-urban settings, and an equitable balance between revenues and costs to society.

Social Farming (SF) is an emerging sector in the rural European context, but the European Economic and Social Committee (2013/C 44/07) emphasizes that SF should be planned and implemented under the new 2014-20 rural development policy because of the positive results obtained. The SF concept can be associated with agriculture as a multifunctional activity, giving agricultural practice new meanings and functions and incorporating social services, medical treatment and rehabilitation, and educational training and support. In addition, agriculture must be considered as a means of employment and social integration for groups as diverse as individuals who are unemployed or living with mental retardation, mental disorders, or addictions, among others. As a result, innovative SF activities are contributing to the social economy, rural and regional development, and support for a new agro-social paradigm. These are mainly activities linked with the endogenous resources of the territory that generate new enterprises, together with complementary activities that consolidate an economic network as the basis for regional development.