Toni Figuera is a young rancher from Vilamitjana in Pallars Jussà (Lleida). On September 11, due to a fire, he was left without the sheds full of grass and the machinery he kept inside. Figuera, with a flock of about 900 sheep, is the only livestock farmer in Vilamitjana. He did not have the cutlery insured. Now, he says he doesn’t have the financial ability to start from scratch.

A few days ago, the Unió de Pagesos Foundation started the crowdfunding ‘Let’s recover the Casa Xirinell warehouse-haystack!’ with the aim of collecting 50,000 euros to help rebuild the hayloft-warehouse, repurchase machinery and acquire food for the livestock and thus prevent Vilamitjana from losing the only remaining livestock farmer.

In the fire, a warehouse of 1,500 square meters, machinery and food for the flock burned to be able to get through the winter.

Figuera is grateful for the initiative and for the support he is receiving from the entire livestock sector. Without this help, he sees it as “very difficult” to continue with livestock farming.

As explained by its president, Raquel Serrat, the Unió de Pagesos de Catalunya Foundation (FUPCAT) is a private, non-profit entity that aims to support the agricultural sector and, at the same time, break with what they consider a “disconnection” between agriculture and the rest of society with different activities to create a “great community.”

“Our work is unknown, there is little respect for our activity and private property and in many cases it is not because of bad faith, but because of simple ignorance and we believe that this must be reversed,” he remarked.

The entity wants to work on advantages with agri-food establishments or on activities to bring the world of farmers closer so that people can sign up. “Synergies must be made, we believe they are very necessary,” stressed the president of the foundation.

It has launched the Friends of Agriculture project to bring the rural and urban world closer together from a triple perspective: food, towns and landscapes.

The foundation wants to raise awareness among citizens of the difficulties of the primary sector, promote the consumption of the food it produces and also awaken the solidarity of civil society in situations of emergencies and unforeseen events, as is the case of the brothers Toni and Imma Figuera de Xirinell House.

The implementation of crowdfunding to raise 50,000 euros is a line of action to contribute their grain of sand in “limited situations” and help them get ahead.

According to Serrat, the case of Toni and her sister fit perfectly: “She is a young person, rooted in the territory and eager to continue the activity.” The campaign, which is open to anyone who wants to participate, will last until February 29.

In the first phase, the money collected will be used to purchase food for the livestock. Then will come the second most complex part, the removal of asbestos from the exploitation, construction of the hayloft-warehouse and purchase of machinery.

The foundation hopes to be able to replicate this solidarity model in new emergency cases, after studying whether its requirements are met.