Continuing in our cycle of articles dedicated to the importance of the conservation of the Dehesa; Today we share with you the interview we conducted with María Pía, founder of Fedehesa.
The Spanish Federation of the Dehesa is an Entity that brings together organizations linked to the Dehesa, Cooperatives, Foundations, Associations and Universities such as Córdoba and Extremadura; which allows it to participate in projects that require the contribution of the sector and the scientific field for the care, promotion and development of this environment of great natural value.
Did you know…?
The Dehesa regulates the cycles of water and soil fertility, enhances biodiversity and; In addition, it plays a fundamental role in mitigating climate change due to the fixation of carbon dioxide.
Likewise, the merino is the sheep breed par excellence in the Dehesa and also the most important in Spain and worldwide. It is this breed that has driven the wool industry throughout the world since long ago, and the main breed used in the Dehesa of Extremadura. We must bear in mind that the merino breed not only has an economic value, but also an enormous ecological value, since due to its rusticity it inhabits areas with very poor soils, in which it acts as a fertilization agent, participating in the ecological balance of the meadow
María Pía Sánchez is an organic sheep farmer in a Dehesa that she owns; located in Extremadura, graduated in Law from the University of Salamanca, she developed her professional career in banking until 2012, when she abandoned everything to dedicate herself to livestock and the recovery of her farm.
Why did you decide to found Fedehesa?
When I started my activity, I realized how disintegrated the sector was and the individualism that prevailed in the world of the Dehesa. There was no Entity that represented it at the national level, nor did it even have a Law that would regulate it at the State level. This lack of specific regulations, and the lack of associationism placed it in a position of extreme vulnerability; and even at risk of extinction due to the multitude of problems and weaknesses that plague it.
Explain to us what the territory of La Dehesa is and its vulnerability
La Dehesa is an ecosystem of high natural value, the one with the greatest biodiversity in Europe that occupies a large part of the territory of the western peninsula. In Spain alone it occupies an area of 3.5 million hectares and approximately 1 million hectares in Portugal; where it receives the name of “Mounted”.
This magnificent ecosystem that has survived to this day thanks to human action due to its need to obtain pasture land for its cattle, is deeply threatened by multiple internal and external factors, which have placed it at risk of disappearing in the medium term. such as the lack of profitability, the bad practices derived from the previous one and the lack of knowledge that has led to the application of modern techniques to an ecosystem that is located in areas with very little soil; which has been completely ignored.
A Community Agrarian Policy that has ignored the peculiar characteristics of this agrosilvopastoral ecosystem forcing its owners to adopt bad practices in order not to lose the CAP subsidies that are sorely lacking due to the low profitability of
their products.
What are the challenges facing the conservation of the Dehesa?
First of all, to make them profitable by themselves so that they can generate employment and wealth. This involves understanding how the system works, which is basically extensive livestock, adjusting the livestock loads to the real possibilities of the farm to avoid the consumption of external inputs that nullify profitability in many cases.
Secondly, giving added value to the products that come out of the Dehesa; which in themselves have an exceptional category, but which fall into the same chain as those produced industrially due to the lack of a differentiating seal; and therefore, of a market that pays for these superior category products.
Thirdly, regenerating our soils through the management of these cattle, which is the true tool we have to improve the quantity and quality of pastures, taking care of the soil as the true producer of life and understanding that the ecosystem is made up of many links , all of them essential for its conservation. Understanding the relationship between the different strata, the herbaceous, the essential scrub, the trees and the livestock that take advantage of them, is the only way to guarantee their survival.
My farm is located in a Dehesa 8 km from Mérida, in the province of Badajoz, in the CCAA of Extremadura with 442 hectares. It is a family estate
owned by the three sisters and which I have managed for many years.are practiced Regenerative agriculture and livestock, with a flock of about 400 sheep certified organic for four years.
What has led you to leave the big city to dedicate yourself to extensive livestock farming?
I developed my professional career in Banking after studying Law at the University of Salamanca, I was also in politics and was a deputy in Congress in the 2004-2008 legislature. Neither of these things made me happy, I lived with the idea that As soon as circumstances allowed me, I would return to the countryside where I spent my entire childhood and where I was happy. And that I did; When I saw the opportunity, I asked for the bill and went to the field, bought the sheep and until today.
How do sheep contribute to the La Dehesa ecosystem?
Sheep are the best tools that the Dehesa has to make soil, we think that they are mobile tanks distributing solid and liquid organic matter throughout the farm. This ability to generate soil rich in nitrogen and other mineralizing substances is vital for the production of pasture, which is the natural vocation of the Dehesa.
Why is the conservation of La Dehesa important and how can we actively contribute?
La Dehesa represents better than any other system the SDGs United Nations Green Deal of the European Union (European Green Pact).
To the excellent quality of its products must be added the enormous environmental benefits it generates, the social opportunities for job creation, being a magnificent carbon sink for millions of diverse plants carrying out photosynthesis and fixing carbon in the soil, the perpetuation of a vernacular and cultural heritage and a landscape that is the image of the Iberian southwest and in the scenario of climate change in which we find ourselves the barrier to the advance of the desert.
Definitely; As María tells us, conserving the Dehesa is everyone’s task, which is why it is so important that society knows it and appreciates it as the natural jewel that nature has given us in perfect symbiosis with human action.
We thank María for this interview and above all for her daily work in promoting and conserving this natural wealth of our country.
INTERVIEW WITH MARÍA PÍA SÁNCHEZ FOUNDER OF FEDEHESA
The Spanish Federation of the Dehesa is an Entity that brings together organizations linked to the Dehesa, Cooperatives, Foundations, Associations and Universities such as Córdoba and Extremadura; which allows it to participate in projects that require the contribution of the sector and the scientific field for the care, promotion and development of this environment of great natural value.
Did you know…?
The Dehesa regulates the cycles of water and soil fertility, enhances biodiversity and; In addition, it plays a fundamental role in mitigating climate change due to the fixation of carbon dioxide.
Likewise, the merino is the sheep breed par excellence in the Dehesa and also the most important in Spain and worldwide. It is this breed that has driven the wool industry throughout the world since long ago, and the main breed used in the Dehesa of Extremadura. We must bear in mind that the merino breed not only has an economic value, but also an enormous ecological value, since due to its rusticity it inhabits areas with very poor soils, in which it acts as a fertilization agent, participating in the ecological balance of the meadow
María Pía Sánchez is an organic sheep farmer in a Dehesa that she owns; located in Extremadura, graduated in Law from the University of Salamanca, she developed her professional career in banking until 2012, when she abandoned everything to dedicate herself to livestock and the recovery of her farm.
Why did you decide to found Fedehesa?
When I started my activity, I realized how disintegrated the sector was and the individualism that prevailed in the world of the Dehesa. There was no Entity that represented it at the national level, nor did it even have a Law that would regulate it at the State level. This lack of specific regulations, and the lack of associationism placed it in a position of extreme vulnerability; and even at risk of extinction due to the multitude of problems and weaknesses that plague it.
Explain to us what the territory of La Dehesa is and its vulnerability
La Dehesa is an ecosystem of high natural value, the one with the greatest biodiversity in Europe that occupies a large part of the territory of the western peninsula. In Spain alone it occupies an area of 3.5 million hectares and approximately 1 million hectares in Portugal; where it receives the name of “Mounted”.
This magnificent ecosystem that has survived to this day thanks to human action due to its need to obtain pasture land for its cattle, is deeply threatened by multiple internal and external factors, which have placed it at risk of disappearing in the medium term. such as the lack of profitability, the bad practices derived from the previous one and the lack of knowledge that has led to the application of modern techniques to an ecosystem that is located in areas with very little soil; which has been completely ignored.
A Community Agrarian Policy that has ignored the peculiar characteristics of this agrosilvopastoral ecosystem forcing its owners to adopt bad practices in order not to lose the CAP subsidies that are sorely lacking due to the low profitability of
their products.
What are the challenges facing the conservation of the Dehesa?
First of all, to make them profitable by themselves so that they can generate employment and wealth. This involves understanding how the system works, which is basically extensive livestock, adjusting the livestock loads to the real possibilities of the farm to avoid the consumption of external inputs that nullify profitability in many cases.
Secondly, giving added value to the products that come out of the Dehesa; which in themselves have an exceptional category, but which fall into the same chain as those produced industrially due to the lack of a differentiating seal; and therefore, of a market that pays for these superior category products.
Thirdly, regenerating our soils through the management of these cattle, which is the true tool we have to improve the quantity and quality of pastures, taking care of the soil as the true producer of life and understanding that the ecosystem is made up of many links , all of them essential for its conservation. Understanding the relationship between the different strata, the herbaceous, the essential scrub, the trees and the livestock that take advantage of them, is the only way to guarantee their survival.
My farm is located in a Dehesa 8 km from Mérida, in the province of Badajoz, in the CCAA of Extremadura with 442 hectares. It is a family estate
owned by the three sisters and which I have managed for many years.are practiced Regenerative agriculture and livestock, with a flock of about 400 sheep certified organic for four years.
What has led you to leave the big city to dedicate yourself to extensive livestock farming?
I developed my professional career in Banking after studying Law at the University of Salamanca, I was also in politics and was a deputy in Congress in the 2004-2008 legislature. Neither of these things made me happy, I lived with the idea that As soon as circumstances allowed me, I would return to the countryside where I spent my entire childhood and where I was happy. And that I did; When I saw the opportunity, I asked for the bill and went to the field, bought the sheep and until today.
How do sheep contribute to the La Dehesa ecosystem?
Sheep are the best tools that the Dehesa has to make soil, we think that they are mobile tanks distributing solid and liquid organic matter throughout the farm. This ability to generate soil rich in nitrogen and other mineralizing substances is vital for the production of pasture, which is the natural vocation of the Dehesa.
Why is the conservation of La Dehesa important and how can we actively contribute?
La Dehesa represents better than any other system the SDGs United Nations Green Deal of the European Union (European Green Pact).
To the excellent quality of its products must be added the enormous environmental benefits it generates, the social opportunities for job creation, being a magnificent carbon sink for millions of diverse plants carrying out photosynthesis and fixing carbon in the soil, the perpetuation of a vernacular and cultural heritage and a landscape that is the image of the Iberian southwest and in the scenario of climate change in which we find ourselves the barrier to the advance of the desert.
Definitely; As María tells us, conserving the Dehesa is everyone’s task, which is why it is so important that society knows it and appreciates it as the natural jewel that nature has given us in perfect symbiosis with human action.
We thank María for this interview and above all for her daily work in promoting and conserving this natural wealth of our country.