The president of the National Federation of Irrigators warns that the new plans “are out of focus” and “threaten” production
The president of the National Federation of Irrigation Communities (Fenacore), Andrés del Campo, yesterday criticized the new basin plans processed by the Ministry to denounce “the political contamination of water management and the discrimination it suffers on the Government’s agenda central”. At the XV National Congress of Irrigation Communities, which was attended by the ministerial head of water, Teodoro Estrela, the leader of the irrigators stated that the current hydrological planning “would aggravate the food crisis that could unleash, among other causes, the war in Ukraine or climate change itself, as organizations such as the UN or the European Commission have warned.
In the opinion of Andrés del Campo, the new plans, which the Council of Ministers plans to approve after the summer, “are totally out of focus and do not guarantee water for irrigation, which poses a serious threat to food production,” reported this organization in a statement
At the opening ceremony, the Minister for the Environment of the Junta de Castilla y León, Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones; the General Director of Water, Teodoro Estrela; and the general director of Rural Development, Isabel Bombal, among others. The president of Fenacore demanded that the hydrological plans be reviewed to cover the deficit of investments in hydraulic infrastructures, such as dams or reservoirs, and to advance in the modernization of irrigation, which would allow more food to be produced using less water and energy.
He defended the role of irrigation in addressing food security challenges and stated that increasing food production to meet the growing future needs of the world’s population will require expansion of the irrigated area, better availability of water and greater efficiency in the use of resources.
«Discrimination of irrigation»
In the case of Spain, Del Campo considered that the growth of agricultural production as a guarantor of food security cannot be based on an increase in resources (land and water), but rather on the increase in agricultural productivity. In this sense, he stressed that irrigation produces up to six times more than rainfed land and that one hectare of intensive irrigation can produce the equivalent of 40 hectares of rainfed land. He also demanded an adequate coordination of public policies that promote increased irrigation productivity and the development of biotechnology to reduce the water needs of crops.
However, he lamented the critical situation that the sector is going through, “fundamentally as a consequence of the singling out and discrimination suffered by irrigation on the Government’s agenda.” Proof of this, he said, is that the measures aimed at meeting the demands for water have barely received 19% of the investment foreseen in the previous plans.
Finally, and given the economic suffocation caused by the rise in electricity costs, the president of Fenacore asked to introduce a reduced VAT of 10% for the supply of energy to irrigation.
The Segura reservoirs lost 6 hm3 in the last week
The swamps of the Segura basin have reserves of 510 cubic hectometres, six fewer than last week, according to data from the Ministry. They are at 44.7% of their total capacity. They have 44 hectometers less than on the same date the previous year and 51 less than the average they usually store at this time. In the country as a whole, the water reserve is at 49.5%. The reservoirs currently store 27,814 hectometers, decreasing in the last week by 291 (0.5% of the current total capacity of the reservoirs). The Tagus demarcation is at 48.6% of its capacity and stores 5,371 hectometers.
#National #Federation #Irrigators #fears #food #crisis #worsen #guarantee #water