Southern Europe suffers from common problems, which, far from being overcome, have been increasing in recent decades. The globalization and delocalization of productive activities generates a serious problem of rural depopulation, which, in turn, is causing the gradual disappearance of the secular agricultural heritage, as well as the "modus vivendi". This situation may further aggravate the economic decline of these areas, affecting the social, economic and territorial cohesion of the EU. In this context, we "the smallest" can, want to and are trying to promote initiatives that provide young people in our areas with tools that will enable them to settle in the territory and encourage the sustainable social and economic fabric in the "emptied Europe". Based on this common problem, as well as a shared motivation, the Town Council of Campoo de Yuso, as the applicant entity, and the rest of the associated entities intend through the AGROGEN project to develop training capacities in mountain agriculture among young people from disadvantaged rural areas. To this end, through mutual collaboration between the actors involved (partners and stakeholders or non-local partners), innovative learning will be promoted, the development of common capacities, the exchange of good practices and the creation of cooperation networks in the face of new perspectives and challenges in the conservation of European genetic and agricultural heritage. This collaborative learning will highlight the richness of the rural environment as well as the pressing need to preserve it. But it will also expose the socio-economic resources of these areas, betting on their use and giving them more exposure. The latter is of particular importance in the search for professional alternatives for young people in rural and demographically depressed areas. The axis of the AGROGEN project is to design and implement a non-formal education model based on practical experience and in line with the environment (tailor-made). To this end, this partnership includes the participation of centres specialised both in the field (European genetic and agricultural heritage) and in the development of models of entrepreneurship and innovation and youth work. Finally, we hope that these activities will generate links between the young participants from the different rural regions of Europe, while encouraging their more active participation in society. The AGROGEN project is aimed at young people, between 18 and 30 years old, who are rooted in rural areas, with personal or professional aspirations focused on the agricultural and forestry sectors. It especially wants to give opportunities to participants with common interests and needs, in order to provide them with strategies, skills and attitudes that motivate them to join the productive fabric of their areas of origin. The AGROGEN project is designed on the basis of three pillars • Research and analysis approach: technical visits to research centres, experimental plots and research and study institutions; • Business approach: technical visits to livestock, agricultural and forestry enterprises; • Practical approach: Development of a field project based on the documentation and prospecting of the rural heritage that is the object of the project. The aim is to exchange experiences and techniques in order to find solutions, as well as to collect and analyze results in order to draw conclusions that can be replicated in other European regions with similar situations. It is expected to obtain a greater linkage of the young participants in relation to their rural area of belonging, generating common strategies to face common problems. As pointed out in the document, the project covers four geographical areas: • Local: transferring knowledge in agricultural techniques and values of traditional mountain agriculture to a group of young people of an age to enter the economic sector in their area. • Regional: to give visibility to the problems of depopulation and lack of training through cooperation with neighboring areas of similar characteristics. • National: to establish links with agricultural and rural youth organizations. • European: contribute actively and significantly to the preservation of Europe's agricultural genetic heritage in the transition from traditional to modern agriculture. The sustainability of the project will "go hand in hand" with the results it provides to the applicant entities, participants and the territories of origin of the young people. However, the global nature of this problem in Europe guarantees the possibility of replicating the model.
We cannot let it remain a scientific or historical exercise, which has value in itself but does not provide solutions to depopulation and job uncertainty in mountain areas. We have to overcome the idea that "enhance" or "disclose" is to do something. It is urgent that we assume the role that we have to play and be facilitators of action. Therefore, it is about going one step further and checking if it is possible to propose a work project and a life project for young people based on this activity and in this type of area. In this way we can propose a way to fix population and attract it from outside with a sustainable activity that works. Knowing that similar experiences are being carried out in other areas of the European Union, the framework of the Erasmus+ projects seemed perfect to verify this issue and to draw attention to this idea.
Thanks to the projects carried out previously by the Campoo de Yuso City Council, we are aware of the possibilities of traditional mountain agriculture in this area. We therefore have historical and current proof that it is "technically" viable. The investigations carried out by the different institutions of the Government of Cantabria also confirm this issue. However, we are losing that heritage both at a technical level (ways and manners) and at the level of local seed variants. To this we must add that young people in mountain areas have two labor problems: If they have a different training from the productive sector, they are forced to leave. If they want to dedicate themselves to the productive sector, they find themselves with a saturated market and some "ways and manners" that do not adapt to the demands of the current market or to their environmental, labor and human sensitivities.