The Ministry of Agriculture opens until September 15 for young farmers to apply for a training stay in model farms. There are 300 farms across Spain and priority is given to women.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food opened this Wednesday, August 19 the application period for one of the training stays of the Cultiva 2026 programme, aimed at young professionals in the field. Applications can be submitted through the ministry's electronic headquarters until September 15, inclusive.
The programme offers stays in 300 model farms spread across all autonomous communities, selected for their innovation, business model, and social, environmental, and climate commitment. The complete catalogue, with a search tool by territory, dates, and type of production, is available on the ministry's website.
The stays will begin to take place from January 2027. During their participation, young people will have accommodation, food, and transport costs covered, and will receive compensation for replacement costs so that a third person can manage their own farm while they are training.
The programme has an initial budget of 1.2 million euros, which can be increased. Those who can participate are farm holders up to 40 years old and those who are 41 years or older but have established themselves in the last five years.
Participants can choose farms with the same or different productions from their own, anywhere in the national territory. Those who have already participated in previous editions cannot repeat in the same farm. In the allocation of places, women, the most recently incorporated young people, and those who have never participated are given priority.
The programme, which started as a pilot in 2020 with only 13 participants, has been growing: 54 in 2021, 92 in 2022, 202 in 2023, and another 202 in 2024. In the 2026 call, still ongoing, 363 young people are participating. The presence of women has fluctuated between 18% and nearly 30% in recent editions.
The stays are organised by entities such as Asaja, COAG, UPA, Agri-food Cooperatives of Spain, Asoporcel, San Isidro Micas Foundation, and Union of Unions. These entities must ensure that there are women-led farms for their plans to be accepted.
For young farmers from Manzanares el Real and the rest of the Community of Madrid, the programme represents an opportunity to learn about other production methods and apply new techniques in their own farms, with costs covered. All information and the application form are available in the Generational Change section of the ministry's website.
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