Clara Benito, Best Female Organic Farmer at EU Organic Awards

The EU’s Organic Awards recently celebrated their 2^nd edition. These awards seek to recognize excellence throughout the organic value chain as well as inspiring, innovative, and  sustainable projects. One of the winners was Clara Benito Pacheco, who was named Best Female Organic Farmer.

Benito Pacheco runs an extensive organic goat farm where her goats feed exclusively on wild grass. Not only does her herd contribute to soil biodiversity, her adult goats can graze freely due to the use of virtual fence technologies and GPS collars. This helps contribute to carbon sequestration in grassland.

Other benefits include contributing to the recovery of the open ecosystem, supporting fire prevention in the Madrid region and, in general, mitigating climate change.

Her project, which is called Entrelobas, in Serrada de la Fuente (Madrid province) is the largest herd of organic goats (130 in total) that freely graze with GPS in the world. Benito Pacheco is a shining example of the Made in Spain brand, as a female in the organic farming industry who is working to modernize longstanding traditions. In the future, Benito Pacheco and her team are planning to produce organic cheese for sale.

Organic farming livestock is a successful industry in Europe and is attractive for farmers in the EU as it offers social, economic, and environmental benefits. In Spain, in terms of animal production, the number of eco livestock activities increased a 20% in 2021, reaching 9,247 livestock farms, according to information by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.