Written by David Erice Rodriguez
Legume-cereal intercropping offers promising benefits for sustainable food production. However, intercropping in Spain comes with unique challenges due to the country’s climatic, agronomic, and commercial conditions. How have Spanish farmers tackled these challenges in their fields? Below, we share their experiences, highlighting both the challenges and potential of intercropping in Spanish agriculture.
Testing intercropping in Spain
During the 2023/24 growing season, Spanish farmers tested seven different combinations of cereals and legumes, experimenting with various sowing rates and fertilisation strategies. This was part of the LEGUMINOSE on-farm living labs, where farmers across Europe are trialling intercropping under real-world conditions.
While Spain has a long tradition of growing mixed crops for fodder, Spanish farmers are not used to managing two crops with the aim of producing two different grain harvests.
Key challenges faced by farmers
As expected, weather conditions played a major role, influencing crop development and affecting final yields.
Throughout the agricultural season, farmers encountered additional challenges when managing intercropped fields. The most notable are:
- Choosing the right species and varieties – Finding crop combinations with similar vegetative cycles proved essential but challenging.
- No weed management options – In cases of severe weed infestations, treatment options were restricted, complicating control efforts.
- Difficulties with post-harvest grain separation – Sorting different grains after harvest was labour-intensive and costly, reducing the final product’s value.
- Marketing challenges – Spain’s grain market favours uniform, single-crop products, making it difficult to sell mixed grains at competitive prices.
- Yield concerns – In all cases, the Spanish intercropped fields produced lower yields than cereal monocultures, except in three regions where poor soil conditions and unfavourable weather made intercropping a more viable option.
What are the key takeaways?
Comparing intercropping with cereal monoculture reveals two main factors that will shape its future in Spain:
- Lower overall yields – In most cases, intercropping resulted in lower yields compared to monocropping, decreasing the profitability per hectare.
- Technical and commercial challenges – Farmers faced complex crop management and marketing difficulties when aiming for two separate grain harvests.
Despite these obstacles, many farmers remain keen to explore intercropping further.
The potential of intercropping in Spain
Although achieving two full grain harvests is an ambitious goal, intercropping offers several advantages that align with the shift towards more sustainable farming:
- Cost savings in low-yield areas – In regions with poor soil fertility or climate-related yield limitations, intercropping can help reduce input costs without compromising productivity.
- Improved nitrogen management – In areas facing restrictions on nitrogen fertilisation, legumes can enhance soil nitrogen availability, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilisers.
- A pathway to sustainable agriculture – While dual grain harvesting remains challenging, intercropping aligns with the growing need for more sustainable methods of food production.
Spanish farmers are eager to continue learning and refining intercropping techniques, making it an approach worth watching as agriculture moves towards a more sustainable future.
Ready to explore intercropping on your farm?
If you’re interested in trying intercropping, seeking advice, or sharing your own experiences, visit our contact page to get in touch.