The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación) opened the application period for the Cultiva 2026 programme on 19 August 2026. Young agricultural business owners can apply until and including 15 September for multi-week training placements at selected model farms across the country. The announcement was made through La Moncloa and marks the start of this year’s allocation round, which aims to give young professionals structured access to practical knowledge and bring it back to their farms.
According to the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, places will be allocated on the basis of transparent criteria defined in the call documents. Priority will be given to women and young people who have only recently established themselves in farming. The placements are organised by subject and region through a catalogue of reference farms, making it possible to cover areas such as innovation, sustainable production systems and business management. Applications are made through the administration’s electronic platform; places are allocated after the formal requirements and availability have been checked.
To deliver the programme, the administration is working with organisations such as ASAJA, COAG, UPA and Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias. These organisations help arrange the placements; their programmes must explicitly include farms run by women. According to the ministry, the funding covers participants’ accommodation, meals and transport during the placements; compensation is also provided for necessary cover to keep farms running. This is intended to reduce financial barriers to participation and ensure business continuity while participants are away.
Background: Cultiva began as a pilot project in 2020 and has gradually expanded. Its legal framework was most recently clarified by Real Decreto 393/2026 as well as subsequent notices in the Boletín Oficial del Estado ; these set out the framework for eligibility, administration and eligible expenses. The aim is to facilitate the structured transfer of knowledge between established reference farms and the next generation of agricultural workers. The impact of the current call will depend on the number of eligible applications, the regional distribution of places and further budgetary allocations. The government says the scheme is intended to accelerate generational renewal and the modernisation of farms; reliable assessments will only be possible after the allocation round has concluded and the first placements have taken place.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).