Context

In recent years, the livestock sector in rural areas such as the Los Pedroches region around Córdoba, Spain, has faced a significant shortage of skilled labour due to an ageing population, a lack of generational renewal and rural depopulation. At the same time, many migrants from countries such as Mali and Senegal arrive in Spain in search of new opportunities, but find significant barriers to employment, including a lack of language skills and appropriate training, limited recognition of their prior skills and difficulties with social inclusion.

COVAP (Cooperativa Ganadera del Valle de los Pedroches), a leading livestock cooperative in the region, and the Spanish Red Cross, with extensive experience in social intervention and labour integration, identified an opportunity to join forces and simultaneously address both issues.

The beneficiaries were young people from Mali and Senegal interested in working and settling in rural areas. However, they lacked direct experience with the European production model and required specific training to integrate themselves into the workforce on livestock farms.

This context warranted an intervention that not only offered technical training but also social support, education in cooperative values and knowledge of the rural environment. The project was a concrete, practical and humane response to a dual challenge: the lack of personnel in the field and the dignified inclusion of migrants.

Objectives

The primary aim of the project was to increase the availability of skilled labour in the livestock sector in the Los Pedroches region, whilst at the same time facilitating the social and labour inclusion of migrants from Mali and Senegal, improving their opportunities for decent employment. This would, in turn, strengthen social cohesion in rural areas through inclusive and training initiatives, and contribute to establishing a population in rural areas by facilitating the development of economic activities and fostering the establishment of new residents in the area. In short, it would ensure the continuity of livestock production by providing skilled labour to farmers in an area where generational renewal is difficult. The project was also hoping to promote collaboration between social organisations and agri-food companies. 

Activities

The first phase of the project consisted of identifying the beneficiaries, and a total of 13 young people were selected. Based on the Red Cross's previous work in social and employment inclusion programmes, diagnostic interviews were conducted to assess their skills, motivations, knowledge of the Spanish language, migration history and willingness to settle in rural areas. Subsequently, a customised training itinerary was designed, tailored to the characteristics of the selected profile and focused on the knowledge and skills required for dairy farms.

The training began with an intensive theoretical week, where participants learned about animal welfare, cattle handling, milking processes, biosecurity measures, environmental sustainability and work organisation in cooperatives. This phase also included training in technical Spanish related to the livestock sector, to facilitate the understanding of work instructions and communication with farm staff.

The next phase was practical training, in which participants spent two weeks at six COVAP member farms. There, under the supervision of the cooperative's own farmers and technicians, they participated in all the tasks required for a real workday: milking, feeding cattle, cleaning facilities, maintenance and monitoring animal health. This practical experience was crucial for consolidating the learning and forging connections between the workers and the local area. Furthermore, throughout the process, the Red Cross provided personalised social follow-up, including psychological support, paperwork management, job guidance and help with cultural and personal adaptation to the rural environment.

Generational Renewal

‘Milking the future’ focused on the active participation of young migrants, all of whom are under 40 years old, as a direct response to one of the greatest challenges facing rural Europe: the lack of generational renewal in the agricultural sector. In a context marked by the ageing of livestock owners and a shortage of young people interested in or prepared to take on agricultural work, the project offers an innovative and sustainable solution based on comprehensive support and qualified job placement for young people seeking an opportunity to build a new future in rural areas.

The young people actively participated through an intensive technical training programme on livestock management, hygiene, animal health, work organisation and responsible use of resources; professional internships at real cooperative farms, where they received mentorship and interacted with local farmers; personalised social support that included job guidance, administrative support and individualised follow-up; collective activities that strengthen a sense of belonging and foster their inclusion in the rural community; and real opportunities for stable employment upon completion of training, on farms that require qualified, young and motivated personnel.

This project not only creates a direct path for young people to access decent agricultural jobs, but also instils the values of responsibility, cooperation and sustainability. Thanks to its design, it generates a long-term positive impact, guaranteeing the transfer of knowledge from the sector, strengthening rural roots and highlighting that migrant youth can be active players in the future of rural areas.

As such, ‘Milking the future’ is consolidating itself as an inspiring model for other European territories facing the challenge of generational change and the socioeconomic inclusion of new settlers.

Main Results

‘Milking the Future’ has generated concrete, measurable and above all profoundly transformative results for the participants, the farms and the region. 13 young migrants from Mali and Senegal, under the age of 40 and in vulnerable situations, participated in the first phase of the project. Their training allowed them to significantly improve their employability, develop technical and personal skills, and gain personal and professional confidence to work in rural areas.

Ten of the participants were hired by the farms where they completed their internships, demonstrating the effectiveness of the direct job placement model. Others are in the process of being hired thanks to their dedication and adaptation. The training programme included more than 60 hours of theoretical and practical training in key areas such as precision livestock farming, animal welfare and sustainability, along with 300 hours of internships on actual farms.

The project has also had a strong impact on the participating farms, which have received skilled job reinforcement, learned about new cultural realities and strengthened their ties to the region and the social economy. They have reduced staff turnover and improved the continuity of their processes, benefiting from the inclusion of young, qualified human capital. None of the farms have considered closing due to a lack of labour.

Overall, the project has helped against depopulation trends in the region and has promoted a more inclusive vision of the rural environment, highlighting that diversity and migration can be part of the solution.

Key lessons

Countering rural depopulation and social exclusion calls for a humane, courageous and structured mindset. It requires political will, cross-sector collaboration and adequate funding, and this project showed that with all of these combined, a labour shortage can be transformed into an opportunity to build a vibrant, sustainable and welcoming rural environment.

This project recognised the need to connect social inclusion, decent employment and rural sustainability in a concrete and scalable solution. It demonstrates that migration can be an opportunity to revitalise depopulated territories when managed with a human and strategic approach. It showed how important it is to unite cooperatives, social organisations and rural communities around a common goal – in this case, to build a more just, diverse and vibrant rural environment.