Organic Farming and Landscape: Experiences and Perceptions in Alt Empordà (Catalonia, NE Spain)

Abstract

The five sections comprising this chapter explore the word “landscape” and its meaning in the rural European Mediterranean world from the perspective of organic farmers. One of the aims of this chapter is to make the reader aware of the true nature of these landscapes, and of the need to educate inhabitants and visitors about their conservation. To this end, a case study is presented which focuses on the district of Alt Empordà (Catalonia, NE Spain). In the first, introductory section, some theoretical considerations concerning the concept of landscape will be discussed, and questions related to the terminology, typology and even contradictions which are encompassed in this word will be explored. The second section will consist of a brief description of the principal geographical features of the area studied, whilst the third presents the most relevant figures concerning organic farming production in Spain and Catalonia. The fourth section can be considered as representing the main body of the chapter, since it concerns the subject which has been the focus of this research: how organic farmers in the Alt Empordà district perceive the landscape. Rather than taking a rigid stance on the concept of landscape, which is after all a concept which everybody uses and is thus subject to multiple meanings and interpretations (Küster, 2004), the aim of this section is to try to describe the different perceptions that organic farmers have of this concept, and how they relate these perceptions to their activities and surroundings. Lastly, the main conclusions that were drawn from this study are summarised. Accordingly, perhaps the best place to start this chapter is with some brief reflections on the word “landscape”, and the associations and interpretations it elicits.