MULTIFUNCTIONALITY EXPERIENCE “CINEGETICA LAS ENCEBRAS”

1. Leonardo Da Vinci ProgrammePilot Project“Adaptation System to Multifunctionality”AGRI-MULTIFUNCTIONALITY MULTIFUNCTIONALITY EXPERIENCE “CINEGETICA LAS ENCEBRAS”

2. “LAS ENCEBRAS: DOUBLE DIVERSIFICATION” • This is a family farm in the area Eastern Mountains of Granada, which has diversified from the traditional olive crop in two ways: • ecological production of extra virgin olive oil and marketing it under their own brand • their penetration in the rural tourism sector on the other, thus taking advantage of the landscape potential of the area where the farm is located.

3. PROFILE OF THE FARMER-PROMOTER • The promoter of this idea is a young man (he is currently 40 years old), with a basic education (primary school certificate), in addition to several specific courses on both agriculture and business management, such as “Accounting” and “Company Management”, who has extensive experience in the agricultural sector (15 years). He is an active person who is keen on hunting (the basis of one of the farm’s diversification activities). He is concerned about his activity and tries to keep up-to-date by attending provincial fairs in the sector. • NAME AND SURNAMES: Juan Carlos Atero Maldonado • AGE: 40 • SEX: Male • MARITAL STATUS: Married • NUMBER OF CHILDREN: 2 • EDUCATION: Primary School Certificate • YEARS OF WORK EXPERIENCE: 15

4. FARM DETAILS • Name: CORTIJO LAS ENCEBRAS BAJAS • Address: Ctra. Iznalloz-Guadahortuna Km-11 • E-mail/Web: www.encebras.com • Legal representative: Juan Carlos Atero Maldonado • Activity:Ecological agriculture: olive, cereal and almond. • Start date: 1993 Farm hectares: 400

5. FARM’S PRIOR SITUATION • At first, the farm we are concerned with was leased for a period of 22 years. It then became the family’s property in 1993. • During the time when the head of the family was leasing the farm, it was used for growing olives, cereals and almonds, the typical crops in the rural area where the farm is located and the traditional activity of the rest of the farmers in the area. In spite of the large number of cultivatable hectares and the number of olive trees planted (around 4,000), the farm was not profitable enough, as although it did make a profit, it also generated many expenses. • This situation, together with a series of the farm’s characteristics, such as its landscape (an area where the valley alternates with hills, with views of the Sierra de Iznalloz) and the number of hectares, which meant that different parts could be used for a variety of activities, such as hunting in the hillside area and clay-pigeon shooting in a clearing, as well as the promoters’ aim for this farm to be used for a different purpose, led to the diversification.

6. THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL EXPERIENCE: DIVERSIFICATION • In 1993, the owner of the estate “Cortijo Las Encebras Bajas” decided to diversify its activity into two different areas: • Ecological Agriculture: producing ecological extra virgin olive oil that is beginning to be marketed by the promoter with his own brand: “Encebras”. • Agrotourism or Rural Tourism: within this sector, the estate provides a complete tourist service.

7. THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL EXPERIENCE: DIVERSIFICATION • In order to maximise the farm’s profitability, the promoter of this case of multifunctionality opted for ecological agriculture, producing ecological extra virgin olive oil that is currently beginning to be marketed under its own brand: “Encebras”. • The owner of the estate had the idea of promoting an activity that was not agricultural in 1993. The idea came to him after going hunting on an estate that was similar to his own. He thought that what they were doing on that estate could also be successful on his own farm, since it was large enough and was in the right location to make it work.

8. THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL EXPERIENCE: DIVERSIFICATION • He then started to look for information to put this idea into practice as soon as possible, so the origin of the agrotourism lay in the hunting activity, which was then expanded to include the rest of the services offered. • The first places the promoter went for information were the Delegación de Medioambiente (Provincial Office of the Environment), the Delegación de Agricultura (Provincial Office of Agriculture) and the Town Hall of the municipal district where the farm is located (Guadahortuna), where he asked for all kinds of different information (on hunting, permits for the hospitality industry, etc.).

9. THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL EXPERIENCE: DIVERSIFICATION • At the beginning, Mr Atero did not receive any financial aid. He financed everything himself with his own money and with a loan from a bank. The cost of the investment in the first phase of the diversification project was €66,000 (€60,000 on construction work and €6,000 on infrastructure). • In the second phase, when the project was extended, he received financial aid from a grant as part of PRODER (Spanish Development and Diversification Programme in Rural Areas) and from the Consejería de Turismo (Regional Ministry of Tourism). The total cost of this second phase was around €50,0000 and the grants came to approximately 30%.

10. THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL EXPERIENCE: DIVERSIFICATION • He also came up against a series of obstacles to putting his idea into practice that were not financial. On a personal level, his family (brothers and sisters) did not support the idea or believe in it (rural tourism had not yet become widespread as a leisure alternative) and on an administrative level, when he submitted his project he did not receive a reply for several years. • Nevertheless, and thanks to his insistence to see his idea through and also thanks to support from his father, who did see an opportunity to expand the farm with this idea, he was finally able to put it into practice and little by little extend the diversification with activities in addition to hunting.

11. RESULTS: FARM’S SITUATION AFTER DIVERSIFICATION • At the moment, the estate Cortijo Las Encebras Bajas is used for Ecological Agricultureand Agrotourism or Rural Tourism: within this sector, it provides a complete tourist service. • Typical bar and restaurant • Rural accommodation in wooden huts • Hunting activity • Riding school and trail rides • Dog training • Clay-pigeon shooting field

12. RESULTS: FARM’S SITUATION AFTER DIVERSIFICATION • Ecological agriculture has given the production and marketing of this estate’s crop added value, in spite of the fact that the market it is aimed at is complicated. • In addition, the concept of the tourist sector side has been so well received that what started as a hunting activity and a small bar/restaurant has now expanded to be a restaurant with a larger capacity and accommodation in huts. And the hunting activity has also diversified into others: dog training, riding school and trail rides... • This expansion of the activities has necessitated an increase in labour and jobs at the same time, since from only needing farm labourers for the different agricultural tasks, who mainly have temporary contracts, qualified hospitality industry personnel are now required, in this case with permanent contracts, since the tourist activity is ongoing all year round.

13. RESULTS: FARM’S SITUATION AFTER DIVERSIFICATION • As a result of the double diversification that Mr Atero has implemented on his farm, profitability is currently higher than it was before 1993. • Profits are expected to double in future when the area where the estate is located becomes more exploited from the point of view of rural tourism. As far as ecological agriculture is concerned, it is a venture that will be more profitable in the long term as the current market for this type of products increases. • In general, the promoter’s assessment of this case of multifunctionality is completely positive and undoubtedly highlights the profitability that this can give farmers in rural areas where traditional crops do not give enough returns.

14. PROMOTER’S ADVICE This is an entirely recommendable experience, but he emphasises the need to study and plan the idea very carefully and to be advised by experts.

15. OBSERVATIONS • In this case of multifunctionality, the profile of the idea’s promoter is worth highlighting: his agricultural experience, on the one hand, and his experience as the manager of a family business, on the other, providing him with the necessary business tools to set up and manage both diversification activities: ecological agriculture and rural tourism. • We also have to point out that this tourist experience is groundbreaking in the area, as, although there are other hunting estates, this is the first one to offer additional services, such as a restaurant and rural accommodation, thus creating a tourist complex that is still unique in the area.

16. QUESTIONS AND REFLECTIONS • Cortijo Las Encebras Bajas is the first estate to offer a rural tourism activity in an area where this type of activity is still not exploited, since it is located in a region of Granada that is not very well-known to tourists. In view of this, would you have dared be the first to penetrate this sector? Why? With which conditions would you have done so? • What do you think of marketing olive oil with your own brand instead of selling it in bulk? • What kind of aid have you heard of for creating rural tourism activities?