Tender for the drafting of the project to renovate the Agricultural Biodiversity Center of Lanzarote

The Cabildo of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, through the Department of Landscape and Food Sovereignty, has put out to tender the service for the drafting of the preliminary draft, basic project, and execution project for the future transformation of the Lanzarote Agricultural Biodiversity Center (CBAL), a strategic action that will allow the renovation and adaptation of this reference infrastructure to the current needs of the island's primary sector. The tender has a base budget of 63,558.45 euros and an execution period of six months.

The future project will define an integral intervention on the facilities located in Maneje, Arrecife, where the Cabildo has a pilot farm for organic agriculture of more than three hectares to carry out conservation work on local agricultural varieties, such as legumes, potatoes, tomatoes, or watermelons. The center also plays a fundamental role in the recovery of traditional crops and in the transfer of knowledge to the island's agricultural sector.

The president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, highlighted that this initiative represents "a firm commitment to protect and strengthen one of the most important spaces for the conservation of our agricultural heritage".

"Lanzarote has managed to place its traditional agricultural model on the international map with the SIPAM recognition from the FAO. Now we have the responsibility to continue equipping ourselves with tools and infrastructures capable of preserving that legacy, promoting innovation, and ensuring that future generations can continue to be linked to our agricultural culture."

The planned action responds to the need to modernize facilities that present significant functional and structural limitations, especially in sanitation, electricity, and plumbing systems, in addition to a growing insufficiency of spaces to develop training, technical, and outreach activities.

For his part, the Minister of Landscape and Food Sovereignty, Samuel Martín, pointed out that the tender marks the beginning of a process that will allow the CBAL to be converted "into a more modern, efficient center prepared for the challenges of the future".

“We want the Agricultural Biodiversity Center to be a reference space for research, training, and conservation of our plant genetic resources. The project we are now tendering must combine sustainability, accessibility, landscape integration, and innovation to respond to the real needs of the primary sector of Lanzarote”.

Scope of the intervention 

Among the objectives contemplated in the future intervention are the improvement of the structural safety of the facilities, adaptation to universal accessibility regulations, the renovation of hydraulic and energy infrastructures, as well as the creation of more suitable spaces for agricultural training, research, and conservation.

The technical document must study, among other actions, the rehabilitation of offices and multipurpose classrooms, the improvement of experimental greenhouses, the adaptation of storage areas and agricultural machinery, the modernization of the germplasm bank and the cold room for the conservation of seeds and plant material, the restoration of hydraulic infrastructures, and the implementation of rainwater harvesting systems. The integration of traditional elements linked to the agricultural landscape of Lanzarote, such as volcanic stone walls and other construction solutions respectful of the environment, is also planned.

The initiative acquires special relevance after the declaration of Lanzarote as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS), granted by the FAO in 2025, an international recognition that highlights the uniqueness of the island's agricultural systems and the need to guarantee their conservation and transmission to future generations.