Ibiza's island government has welcomed the proposed new Agrarian Law of the Balearic Islands, describing it as an opportunity to strengthen the island's agricultural sector, improve the profitability of farms and encourage a new generation of farmers to remain in the countryside.

Vice-President of the Consell Insular d'Eivissa, Mariano Juan, presented the institution's favourable assessment during the General Commission of Island Councils at the Balearic Parliament on Wednesday 4 November 2026.

He argued that the proposed legislation follows the direction of policies already introduced in Ibiza, with an emphasis on reducing administrative obstacles, creating more opportunities for agricultural businesses and maintaining the island's rural landscape through productive activity.

The figures presented during the commission show that the number of registered agricultural holdings in Ibiza increased by 16% between 2019 and 2025, while livestock holdings grew by 32%. The area dedicated to organic agriculture also approximately doubled over five years.

Agricultural and livestock holdings increase in Ibiza

According to the figures presented by Mariano Juan, Ibiza had 1,527 registered agricultural holdings in 2019. By 2025, this number had increased to 1,773, representing growth of 16%.

The livestock sector recorded an even larger increase. Registered livestock holdings rose from 734 in 2019 to 968 in 2025, an increase of 32%.

The area dedicated to organic agriculture also expanded considerably. It grew from 792 hectares in 2020 to 1,590 hectares in 2025, approximately doubling over the five-year period.

Juan acknowledged that these developments do not mean the agricultural sector has overcome all its difficulties. He recognised that farmers and livestock producers continue to face structural challenges, but argued that the figures demonstrate that businesses are still investing in the island's primary sector.

He said the Consell's responsibility was to support this development and consolidate the positive trend.

What the proposed new Agrarian Law aims to change

The Balearic Government's proposed Agrarian Law is intended to provide agricultural and livestock businesses with additional tools to improve their economic viability.

The project was approved by the Consell de Govern on 25 September 2026 and subsequently sent to the Balearic Parliament to begin its legislative process. It has not yet become law.

Among the measures highlighted by Juan are greater facilities for processing and marketing locally produced goods, the recovery of unused agricultural land and the development of complementary activities that can generate additional income for farms.

The proposal also seeks to create opportunities for agricultural service businesses, including companies providing machinery, maintenance, pruning and harvesting services. It would facilitate the use of certain existing agricultural buildings for activities connected with the primary sector.

Another objective is to make it easier for farmers to generate more value from their products rather than relying exclusively on selling raw agricultural produce.

The wider government proposal also includes measures concerning water access, renewable energy, direct sales, short supply chains, organic production and cooperation between agricultural businesses.

New conditions for certain houses on rural land

One of the most significant and debated elements of the proposed legislation concerns new residential construction on rural land.

The project introduces an agricultural condition for certain new detached single-family houses measuring more than 100 square metres on properties of at least 14,000 square metres, where construction is already permitted under the applicable territorial and urban-planning rules.

The requirement would link these developments to agricultural activity for a minimum period of 15 years.

The proposal provides several ways to fulfil this condition. These include maintaining agricultural production on the property, making investments to improve its productive capacity, establishing an agreement with a professional farmer or eligible agricultural holding, or making land available through the public land bank.

Importantly, the proposed Agrarian Law does not itself create new building rights, change minimum plot sizes or determine where houses can be constructed. Those matters remain governed by the applicable territorial and urban-planning legislation.

The project also provides for agro-stays linked to active agricultural holdings, with a maximum of six tourist places per farm. These places would come from existing tourism accommodation capacity rather than creating additional tourist places.

Reducing bureaucracy and encouraging the next generation of farmers

During his intervention, Juan connected the proposed legislation with measures already introduced by the Consell Insular d'Eivissa.

He referred to the island's Administrative Simplification Regulation, approved in 2022, and the modification of the Island Territorial Plan, completed in 2025, as examples of efforts to reduce administrative obstacles and facilitate economic activity in the primary sector.

He also highlighted 102 files relating to the incorporation of young farmers that were processed through funding calls in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The figure refers to files managed through those calls and should not be interpreted as 102 additional farms or as a count of young farmers currently working in the sector.

For Juan, improving the economic viability of agricultural holdings is essential to encouraging generational renewal.

He argued that the challenge is not simply getting young people to enter agriculture, but ensuring they can remain in the sector, invest in their businesses and build a long-term future on the island.

Insularity, fragmented farms and competition for land

Despite the positive figures, the vice-president acknowledged that Ibiza's agricultural sector continues to face significant difficulties.

These include the challenges of insularity, the fragmentation of agricultural holdings and competition for land and labour.

These structural conditions can make it more difficult for farms to achieve the scale and profitability needed to compete, invest and attract workers.

Juan argued that legislation must therefore go beyond protecting rural land as a landscape. It must also allow the people who work that land to earn a viable living.

He thanked the Balearic Government and the regional Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, Joan Simonet, for promoting the reform.

PSOE questions the proposal's approach to rural land

The proposed Agrarian Law also generated criticism during the parliamentary commission.

PSOE spokesperson Elena López argued that the legislation places too much emphasis on regulating non-agricultural uses of rural land, including residential, tourism and complementary activities.

She said that updating agricultural legislation was necessary, but maintained that its main priorities should be improving farm profitability, increasing food production and quality, and ensuring the continuity of agricultural activity.

López questioned whether the proposed text provides a sufficiently strong strategy to achieve those objectives, warning that the expansion of non-agricultural uses could take attention away from the needs of farmers and livestock producers.

The disagreement highlights a central issue in the debate over the future of Ibiza's countryside: how to improve the financial viability of agricultural holdings while ensuring that complementary activities do not displace farming as the principal use of rural land.

A proposed reform still awaiting parliamentary approval

The Balearic Government's Agrarian Law is now at the parliamentary stage, where its provisions will be examined before any final approval.

For the Consell Insular d'Eivissa, the reform represents an opportunity to consolidate the growth recorded in agricultural holdings, livestock businesses and organic farming, while making it easier for farmers to develop sustainable economic activity.

However, the debate in Parliament will determine the final wording of the legislation and how its measures are implemented.

The central challenge remains ensuring that Ibiza's countryside is not only protected as part of the island's landscape, but also remains productive, economically viable and capable of supporting future generations of farmers.