Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain – Researchers from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB) are warning that the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) has seen a drastic reduction in its peri-urban agricultural land, with over 70% lost in recent decades. This decline is largely attributed to urban expansion, real estate speculation, and the low profitability of the agricultural sector, prompting urgent calls for policy changes to safeguard urban resilience.
Alarming Decline in Agricultural Land
The study, which combined spatial analysis of land use between 2003 and 2015 with interviews and participatory workshops, highlights the critical state of peri-urban agriculture in the AMB. Currently, only 8.5% of the metropolitan territory is dedicated to agricultural uses, equating to a mere 16 square meters per inhabitant. The most significant loss of agricultural land occurred before the 2008 crisis, coinciding with the real estate boom. While the rate of transformation has stabilized in the last decade, there has been no reversal of the trend.
According to researcher Johannes Langemeyer, “Historically, the decoupling of agricultural production from cities is a relatively new and exceptional phenomenon. In times of crisis, for example, economic crises or wars, this decoupling increases food risk in cities.”
Driving Factors Behind the Loss
The research identifies urban pressure as a primary driver of this process. The increasing value of land in peri-urban areas has incentivized its conversion to residential, industrial, or infrastructure uses, often at the expense of fertile agricultural land. This is compounded by the low profitability of agricultural activity, influenced by international market competition, land fragmentation, and difficulties in accessing land and water. The protection regimes for other ecosystems, such as forests, also contribute to this situation. These factors have led to a loss of generational succession, a critical element for the continuity of agricultural operations.
Implications for Urban Resilience
Beyond food production, the researchers emphasize that the loss of peri-urban agriculture has direct implications for urban resilience. The proximity of these agricultural areas reduces dependence on global supply chains, decreases emissions associated with food transport, and contributes to climate regulation, biodiversity, and landscape quality. However, these benefits remain undervalued in territorial planning.
Tensions with Environmental Conservation
The analysis also reveals growing tensions between agricultural activity and environmental conservation policies. In the elevated peri-urban areas of the AMB, such as the Serra de Collserola, Serra de l’Ordal, and Serralada Marina, agricultural abandonment has led to forest expansion, transforming the landscape and hindering the recovery of agricultural uses. In flat areas, particularly the Llobregat Delta, urbanization and certain environmental protection measures create conflicts with the agricultural sector, exacerbated by issues like wildlife proliferation and land use limitations.
Technological Challenges and Informal Agriculture
Technological factors, including the loss of irrigation infrastructure, limited access to water, and territorial fragmentation due to road infrastructure, further hinder the viability of professional agriculture. These conditions have also fostered the emergence of informal agricultural practices, creating new tensions in peri-urban land use.
Opportunities for Reversal and a Sustainable Future
Despite these challenges, the study suggests that opportunities still exist to halt and even reverse the trend. Researchers advocate for recognizing peri-urban agriculture as a strategic element for the future of cities and call for its genuine integration into urban planning policies. Initiatives like the Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat demonstrate that active protection of agricultural land can help maintain agricultural activity in highly pressured metropolitan environments.
The Barcelona Metropolitan Area stands at a crossroads. Halting the loss of agricultural land and re-evaluating its productive, environmental, and social functions is an urgent challenge for advancing towards a more sustainable, resilient, and balanced urban model.
The reference article is: Langemeyer, J., G. Gervasi, S. Ventura Caballé, and G. Villalba Mendez. 2026. Where have all the farmers gone? Spatial-temporal transformations of peri-urban agriculture in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. Ecology and Society 31(1):35. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-16730-310135
