La Peira farm: Pioneers in Organic Agriculture

Peira farm is characterized since 1979, for its constant struggle in improving the environment, where José Martí is, its founder, a pioneer in Spain in organic agriculture.

The Peira is an agricultural farm located in the municipality of Benifaió, a town of Ribera del Jucar within the province of Valencia. Irrigated farm in which, together with the cultivation of orange trees, vegetables, legumes etc., is dedicated to the breeding of sheep, goats, chickens and other birds, most of them belonging to indigenous breeds.

It is also a place to stay overnight, enjoy the foods that are there, and chat in pleasant conversation with the friendliest people you can imagine.

Located in the Ribera Alta del Jucar with a Mediterranean maritime climate where the average minimum temperatures not lower 13'8 º C and average maximum temperatures not exceeding 25 ' 9 º C.

We can find places of interest within a radius of 30 km from sunbathing and swimming on the beaches of Valencia, Cullera, El Saler, El Perelló, etc, to mountainous areas through studies of fossils and minerals-The Marquesat and how to Llombai La Albufera with no possibility of boat trips and visit wetlands Sollana and Sweden prior to the lake.

Organic Agriculture, Education, Outreach and Research

Since 1987, The Peira, Ecological Experimental farm of la Ribera, we have been developing a social and economic activity in rural areas of the Valencian, in the district of La Ribera. Join the activities of an agricultural farm with education and outreach.

The purpose is to disseminate both, Organic Agriculture as marketing products as they are experimenting with different attitudes to the nature and forms for the purpose of interacting as little as possible with it, avoiding imbalances. Biodiversity, both animal and vegetable, is basic. Livestock is closely linked not only to our farm, but everything that surrounds us.

On the farm, there are four distinct among themselves, but perfectly connected:

A) Agricultural zone

B) Residence livestock

C) Forest area

D) Housing and services

In each of the three other co-exist, namely in the area are cattle and farm woodlots, and in the forest zone, agriculture and livestock. Its products also took advantage at all.

It is also dedicated to the industrial processing of products such as cheese, bread, canned and research. As research projects , we can highlight the project between 2002 and 2006, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, consisting of, first, to compare different breeds of laying hens, and local industrial and other develop compost by recycling the remains of pruning the gardens of nearby towns.

In The Peira received visits from groups of schoolchildren and adults, there are courses, workshops and seminars for technical meetings, study and student teaching and placements.

This project also involved work together and the Center for Rural Studies and International Agriculture (CERAI) and Slow Food. CERAI is an NGO which since 1994 has been developing projects related to agricultural and rural world, both Spanish and European relations with addressing international trade, environment, organic agriculture and its future development, exodus rural, and so on. Among its objectives are: to disseminate the challenges of agriculture in S. XXI regarding land management, biodiversity, agro-ecology, production systems, food quality and consumer education, awareness of society; and form different groups through courses cooperation, agro-ecology, sustainable rural development, agriculture and medicinal plants, evaluation of Mediterranean products and training courses.

Slow food, meanwhile, is an organization that emerged in Italy in 1989 and is currently present in over 120 countries. Emerges to counter the growing trend towards a fast life and fast food nutrition, to combat the disappearance of traditional and local varieties and disinterest of the people for the food they eat, for as they have been grown, and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

Movement's activities are extremely varied: from thematic meals, tastings, trips to areas of producers and trade fairs, as well as promotion and restoration of lost productivity. In its famous work of the Ark of Taste, joins the defense of biodiversity and sustainable production and the demand fair compensation for producers of food. It is also interesting to its education, ranging from the most basic sensory formations in the world of children, until the formation of senior academics in universities in northern Italy.

Agroecology Management in Peira

In The Peira, one of the principles of its activity is the management of farm and agro pass up the society of the benefits derived. In this part of the Ribera Alta agrosystem holds the concept of a holistic nature, an applicant for multiple analysis, historical and sociological, on one side and another of the movement of material flows of energy. Parties believe that agriculture and livestock are the same thing, and we went through to develop a series of actions that logically affect the environment we live. But to pursue these actions complement each other, forms part of the same cycle. This will achieve greater energy efficiency, since, for example, agricultural residues for livestock feed. Furthermore, by diversifying livestock, goats and sheep, there is a very high reuse. Thus the search for a sustainable agroecosystem.

Also reinforce another set of attributes that aim to increase the degree of sustainability: productivity, the ability of an agroecosystem to meet the needs and services required, which is capable of maintaining its productive capacity after suffering shocks alter the equilibrium (resilience). Sustainability implies that management is also economically viable, to ensure access to the livelihood of all farmers and the fallow system has the capacity to supply the flows necessary for the production (autonomy). The results of management must be socially fair and respect biodiversity.

But Peira Farm is not a place just for agriculture, it is a project of life, a way of understanding the world, understand the relationships between living things.

Contact The Peira Farm
Peiró, S / N.
Benifaió 46450
(VALENCIA)

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