The Círculo Ecuestre Impact Committee, with the support of CaixaBank, held the third session of the Tourism, Mobility, and Food cycle on Thursday, July 8th. Under the title Land as a Strategic Asset, the meeting brought together a panel of high-level experts consisting of Laia Mas, an expert in agri-food impact, head of the Lleida Alimenta project at the Raimat Lleida Community Foundation, and founder of Massalmones; Candi Cervera, CEO of Cerestia Iberia at Mat Holding; Anna Pallí, head of the IRTA Technology Surveillance Office; and Daniel Schneiders, director of the Bayer Climate Program.
The day began with a welcome from Elena de Carandini, president of the Círculo Ecuestre Impact Committee and president of the Raimat Lleida Community Foundation, who thanked the speakers, CaixaBank, and the Institut Català Agrícola de Sant Isidre for their support in focusing on the future of agriculture and the economy, emphasizing soil as a strategic asset.
Daniel Schneiders, director of Bayer's Climate Program, began his presentation by emphasizing the company's ambition to achieve climate neutrality by 2030 and reiterated that sustainable agriculture must go beyond reducing emissions: "Healthy soil is the foundation for collective agriculture. We support associations to work together, share knowledge and resources, and develop actions that benefit both farmers and the environment."
For her part, Anna Pallí, head of IRTA's Technology Monitoring Office, highlighted the importance of beginning to understand the key role of soil in climate change and food production: "95% of the food we consume depends on soil, which also has a triple function: sequestering carbon, storing water, and sustaining life". She also emphasized the need for appropriate management policies and facilitating technological innovation so that it reaches farmers, especially in Catalonia, where arable land is a scarce and valuable resource. The IRTA representative also insisted that "we must be aware that healthy soils and functional biodiversity are the foundation of any food system".
Candi Cervera (Cerestia Iberia) focused on the profitability of agriculture: "Agriculture must be economically sustainable to be environmentally and socially sustainable." The general manager of Cerestia Iberia (MatHolding's agricultural division) points out that "digitalization, training, and investment are necessary levers to reverse the degradation of agricultural land and attract new generations to the countryside". Cervera went on to emphasize the economic importance of agriculture, which represents 20% of GDP in Catalonia and is Spain's third-largest export sector.
Laia Mas, head of the Lleida Alimenta project at the Raimat Lleida Community Foundation, shared her vision of the project as a paradigm shift driven by the local community, with the cooperation of companies, cooperatives, technology centers, civil society, and public administrations. “In the next 10-15 years, we could lose between 20 and 30% of essential crops. We can't continue producing food as if we had infinite resources. We need to do so from a regenerative perspective, caring for the soil, water, and the people who work it”, she concluded. She also emphasized the importance of building trust among different stakeholders to address global challenges, noting that a transformative movement is already emerging in Lleida, in line with the Shared Agendas of the Lleida region and RIS3CAT.
In the final stretch of the colloquium held at the Barcelona club, Elena de Carandini raised the need to ground the strategic vision in concrete initiatives, highlighting investment in agricultural land. Anna Pallí was clear: “Investing in soil is investing in the future. It guarantees food quality and safety, climate resilience, and a scarce resource that Europe must protect and regenerate”.
Cervera highlighted Cerestia's role as a driver of the sector's transformation through technology: “In Spain, there are 200 agrotech startups, and they face high mortality rates; therefore, helping technologies endure and build trust among farmers is essential to achieving a lasting impact”.
The colloquium concluded with a lively Q&A session in which attendees highlighted the growing interest in a fairer, healthier, and more resilient food model. As Daniel Schneiders pointed out, “there is no sustainability without profitability”, recalling that the ecological transition must also be economically viable to be consolidated.
With this session, the Círculo Ecuestre and CaixaBank reaffirm their commitment to fostering spaces for strategic reflection on the major challenges of the present and the future.