More than 32,000 people experienced 'Benvinguts a Pagès La Festa'

More than 32,000 people experienced Benvinguts a Pagès La Festa over the weekend in Catalonia. The celebration of Catalan farming returned in person for this 6th edition and renewed its drawing power, with visitors travelling across the country and rediscovering the origin of — and the people behind — the products they eat every day.

Benvinguts a Pagès came back strongly with 150 agri-food farms taking part across Catalonia, which opened their gates and offered guided tours to give the public a genuinely authentic experience. The weekend reconnected the public with Catalonia's producers. Farmers rate the weekend very positively: they were the centre of attention, shared their daily lives, highlighted the importance of the primary sector and won over new audiences through the guided tours. Producers were delighted to welcome the public back to their farms after last year's break caused by the pandemic.

The programme was completed by 200 rural accommodation providers offering special stays over the weekend, and by 200 restaurants put forward by the farmers themselves, which cook local, seasonal produce from the participating farms. Visitors were able to taste and stock up on the products they rediscovered during the tours, a great chance to buy directly from producers.

The public's eagerness to experience farm life first hand was particularly evident in the counties near the metropolitan area. Most farms in Bages, Anoia, Osona, Berguedà and Maresme were full for their scheduled visits, which were fully booked on both Saturday and Sunday. Some farms doubled or even tripled their groups to accommodate everyone registered. Visits to the Pyrenees to discover milk, cheese and cured meat production or saffron growing; to Terra Alta and Les Garrigues, with winery and mill tours accompanied by wine, oil and nut tastings; and walks among thousand-year-old olive trees and orange groves in Terres de l'Ebre to learn their secrets from the producers themselves, all illustrate the diversity of experiences and the visitors' interest. In the Girona and Tarragona counties, with their long beekeeping tradition, visitors kitted themselves out to see the bees up close and understand where honey comes from.

The organisers of Benvinguts a Pagès La Festa would like to thank the public for taking part and responding, and everyone and every organisation that has once again made the celebration of Catalan farming a success. The weekend on the farm adapted naturally to the pandemic situation, and the requirement to book in advance made organising and planning the free visits run smoothly.

The project continues

The project continues, with a strong offer for anyone left wanting more after the weekend. Benvinguts a Pagès Tot l’Any now takes over with a stable offer of around a hundred paid visits to agri-food farms across Catalonia. The organisers are responding to a request from farmers and fishers, who will have a new way to generate activity 365 days a year. The benvingutsapages.cat website has all the information, where visits can be browsed by area or by product.