People will start moving to the countryside to eat within a decade, I believe
Can you survive in the countryside growing your own food? Data and analysis on the challenges of self-sufficiency in Spain.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Self-sufficiency in the countryside: dream or logistical nightmare?
With 500 square metres of intensive cultivation, a typical family barely manages to produce 75% of the annual food for one person. That is the stark reality emerging from the most realistic analyses of the supposed 'return to the land' as a solution to supply crises.
The myth of the easy vegetable garden
The idea that any city dweller can plant tomatoes and live off the land clashes with the experience of those who have been doing it for years. A radish takes 40 days to grow; a loquat tree takes years. Without fertilisers or pesticides, pests and frosts can wipe out a harvest. What's more, animal protein is almost essential, and raising chickens or pigs requires space, feed and veterinary knowledge.
The 500-square-metre frontier
One of the most revealing figures in the analysis comes from direct experience: two plots of 250 m² each, devoted entirely to vegetables, fruit trees and chickens, can only guarantee three quarters of one person's food for a year. This means a family of four would need more than 2,000 m² of intensive cultivation, not counting the need for water, tools and the ability to preserve surpluses. Total self-sufficiency is, in practice, a chimera for most people.
The knowledge factor and the institutional factor
Beyond the land itself, traditional farming knowledge has largely been lost. Urban generations have no experience in sowing, pruning, identifying pests or managing crop rotation. Added to this is uncertainty about the future of property ownership: some analysts point out that a possible socialisation of inheritances — through high taxes or the removal of reliefs — could leave many people without access to land. The countryside is not an alternative for anyone unwilling to learn and work hard; it is a refuge only for the best prepared.
The question that remains is whether the next decade will bring a mass migration to the countryside or whether, on the contrary, most people will continue to depend on increasingly fragile supply chains. What is clear is that the fantasy of self-sufficiency collides with a reality far harsher than apocalyptic dreams suggest.
Related discussions in the forum
With 500 square metres of intensive cultivation, a typical family barely manages to produce 75% of the annual food for one person. That is the stark reality emerging from the most realistic analyses of the supposed 'return to the land' as a solution to supply crises.
The myth of the easy vegetable garden
The idea that any city dweller can plant tomatoes and live off the land clashes with the experience of those who have been doing it for years. A radish takes 40 days to grow; a loquat tree takes years. Without fertilisers or pesticides, pests and frosts can wipe out a harvest. What's more, animal protein is almost essential, and raising chickens or pigs requires space, feed and veterinary knowledge.
The 500-square-metre frontier
One of the most revealing figures in the analysis comes from direct experience: two plots of 250 m² each, devoted entirely to vegetables, fruit trees and chickens, can only guarantee three quarters of one person's food for a year. This means a family of four would need more than 2,000 m² of intensive cultivation, not counting the need for water, tools and the ability to preserve surpluses. Total self-sufficiency is, in practice, a chimera for most people.
The knowledge factor and the institutional factor
Beyond the land itself, traditional farming knowledge has largely been lost. Urban generations have no experience in sowing, pruning, identifying pests or managing crop rotation. Added to this is uncertainty about the future of property ownership: some analysts point out that a possible socialisation of inheritances — through high taxes or the removal of reliefs — could leave many people without access to land. The countryside is not an alternative for anyone unwilling to learn and work hard; it is a refuge only for the best prepared.
The question that remains is whether the next decade will bring a mass migration to the countryside or whether, on the contrary, most people will continue to depend on increasingly fragile supply chains. What is clear is that the fantasy of self-sufficiency collides with a reality far harsher than apocalyptic dreams suggest.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (29 replies).
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