The end of the countryside as we have known it
PalmThe government of Marga Prohens is preparing to submit a new agrarian law to Parliament that, under the umbrella of modernization and diversification, opens a new era in the relationship between the countryside and tourism. If approved, the law will allow all agricultural holdings—managed by someone with a farmer's license—to offer up to ten agroestadas. The left had already authorized six, but the quantitative and qualitative leap is now more profound, because it is not just about rural tourism: the law will also facilitate the construction of agricultural warehouses, some linked to tourism or complementary activities, and the wider installation of solar panels on rural land.
The countryside, a territory already weakened by neglect and urban development pressure, opens the door even further to businesses that were not originally intended for it. And therein lies the danger. What appears to be an opportunity to diversify income may end up being the final blow to Forávila, to its productive function and to the already meager food sovereignty. The Balearic agricultural landscape, which has been struggling to stay alive for decades, runs the risk of becoming even more of a stage set, a space for experiences, accommodations, and activities for visitors, rather than a territory for the peasantry.
The countryside has already become sufficiently chalet-like. Scattered houses, many second homes, often unoccupied, have been colonizing the rural landscape. Now new agricultural warehouses, more photovoltaic installations, and the proliferation of tourist establishments disguised as agricultural activities will be added. No more wineries that hide a leisure activity behind a glass of wine or rural stays that have little to do with the peasantry.
The fact that the countryside clings to tourism to survive is a symptom of a collective failure: political, because institutions have failed to build a sustainable or profitable agricultural model; and social, because citizens have given up on truly supporting local products. During the pandemic, everyone praised Km0 and direct sales, but in normal times, we have once again looked the other way.
Touristizing the countryside is not saving it. It's turning it into yet another extension of the all-consuming economic monoculture. The consequences will be the same as always: greater pressure on water, more traffic on already saturated roads, greater overcrowding, and less authenticity. In the name of competitiveness, what they claim to want to protect is being disfigured.
The new agrarian law should not be a new chapter in the same story—that of the countryside at the service of tourism—but rather an opportunity to rethink our relationship with the land, with those who work it, and with the territory that feeds us. If we don't, we will witness the end of the countryside as we have known it.
