Farmers nationwide have found a new way to narrow the gap between producer earnings and consumer prices by letting urban buyers sponsor trees. This approach brings farming closer to city life and helps counter rural depopulation by connecting people directly with the land and its harvests.
Across regions, this model has rooted itself with olives, oranges, and almonds becoming sponsored trees. The goal is to curb intermediary abuses and ensure farmers receive a fairer share of the value chain while inviting urban communities to participate in farming life.
The initiative grows from farming families and rural communities who understand the sector’s current challenges and foresee a less certain future. It is driven by farmers who offer their trees to illuminate the sector’s path forward and to spark renewed interest in rural livelihoods.
Several years ago early projects reported notable success. To address population decline, a sponsorship program began in Oliete, Teruel, and has helped protect around 15,000 olive trees to date. The program shows that population preservation in rural areas is possible when agricultural work is tied to urban audiences and strengthens the bond between city dwellers and the countryside. The founder explains that a future for rural life becomes plausible when communities support farming and maintain urban engagement with the countryside. [Attribution: Efeagro]
How does tree sponsorship work? A person can select an olive tree online and decide whether to sponsor it for personal use or as a gift. After the sponsorship is completed, the purchaser can receive the oil produced from that tree at home once the harvest is finished. This model aligns consumer activity with production while offering a tangible link to the source of food.
In statements to Efeagro, the project’s creator explains that sponsorship protects both people and crops in rural areas and partners with social associations to assist groups at risk of social exclusion. This collaborative approach reinforces the social fabric while safeguarding agricultural livelihoods. [Attribution: Efeagro]
Almonds as a home for the future
Another notable case unfolds in the Sierra de Irta, Castellón, where coastal sites between Peñíscola and Alcossebre host almond trees and nearby orange groves as symbols of a land seeking closer ties with consumers. Here, a project owner explains the goal of deeper participation by buyers in the production cycle. The aim is to help consumers understand when and how harvests occur, and to promote a product that travels directly from tree to home.
Under this model, customers fund the maintenance of the tree and receive the harvested almonds when they are ready. The system makes the fruit a personal stake for sponsors and strengthens trust between the farmer and the eater.
Valencia oranges seek sponsors
A parallel family project emerged just before two brothers left the Valencian Community, owning orange and tangerine orchards from separate regions. In Les Coves de Vinromà, varieties such as Navel Fukumoto, Lane Late, Clemenules, and Afourer are grown, while in Vinaròs varieties like Washington and Navel, along with tangerines, are cultivated.
A sponsored orange tree costs about 70 euros per year. Sponsors can follow the planting and growth process through an online calendar, as noted in discussions with Efeagro. If a tree encounters a setback, sponsors are offered a harvest from existing trees until the newly planted one bears fruit. The idea is to let consumers witness the labor behind food and enjoy fresh, reliably sourced products.
This model makes it possible for families to sustain farming and for communities to contribute to rural social life by supporting olive, orange, and almond trees. [Attribution: Efeagro]
A growing movement emphasizes that buying a sponsorship is a direct way to support family farming and the integrity of local food systems rather than relying solely on transactional routes to the store.
Environment department contact information is not included here to protect privacy and keep the focus on the initiative itself.