• The government delegate visits, together with the Secretary of State for Agriculture and Food, Begoña García, the irrigation communities of the Baix Empordà, where more than 43 million euros have been invested to modernize them.
• Carlos Prieto underlines that actions such as these irrigations reinforce “the resilience, sustainability and competitiveness of the agri-food sector”.

La Tallada d’Empordà, May 27, 2025.– The government delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto, visited on Tuesday the communities of irrigators of the Colomers and El Molí dam of Pals. Prieto, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Agriculture and Food, Begoña García, as well as the subdelegate of the Government in Girona, Pere Parramon, has been able to see at first hand the work of modernizing the irrigation systems.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), through the State Commercial Society of Agrarian Infrastructures (SEIASA), is currently executing two projects for the integral modernization of 3,492 hectares of irrigation in the province of Girona for an amount of 43,358,811.32 euros.

During his speech, Carlos Prieto warned of the need to carry out this type of action in the face of the effects of the climate emergency that “the experts point out that they will be increasingly extreme and frequent”, giving as an example the drought “that for so many months affected our lands and, especially, the Girona regions”.

Thus, with these actions, assures the government delegate, “we take a firm and determined step to guarantee a future to 1,274 families who cultivate 3,492 hectares along the central plain of the Baix Empordà”. In any case, Carlos Prieto wanted to make it clear that it is not only about figures: “We talk about people, family farms and a living landscape that we want to preserve and grow with intelligence, respect and innovation.”

In addition to saving water through the intubation and pressurization of existing networks, the work in both cases is aimed at reducing the energy costs of the farms through solar photovoltaic installations, and will also incorporate remote control systems with the necessary technology to digitalize in an integral way the management of irrigation.

The performances jointly benefit 1,274 irrigators from the municipalities of Albons, Bellcaire d’Empordà, l’Escala, la Tallada d’Empordà, Torroella de Montgrí, Pals, Gualta, Fontanilles, Palau-Sator, Ullastret, Serra de Daró, Verges and Viladamat.

32.22 million euros for the CR Presa de Colomers

The first of the projects will modernize the Community of Irrigators of the Colomers Dam, which until now was supplied with a pipeline executed in a previous work by the MAPA through SEIASA, from the Ter River Azud.
The objective is to design a network of pressure pipes that distributes water to the irrigation plots of 631 irrigators, for which a budget of 32,226,811.32 euros is available.
This is intended to make the farms sustainable, which will have several ponds, a pumping station and a photovoltaic solar plant that will reduce the energy costs borne by the irrigators. In addition, the new pressurized irrigation network will be managed through a modern remote control system that will allow greater efficiency in the use of water.

11.13 million euros for the CR Rec del Molí de Pals

The second project involves the modernization of the distribution network of the Community of Irrigators of the Rec del Molí de Pals and will have an investment of 11,132,000 euros (VAT included), to improve the efficiency of 1,073 hectares of irrigation that cultivate 643 irrigators.
The works will make it possible to replace the current distribution network, made up of dilapidated dips and pipes, with a pressurized irrigation system, improving efficiency in the transport and application of irrigation water.
In addition, two pumping stations will be built, partly powered by photovoltaic solar parks, which will replace current private pumps with diesel engines.
Finally, state-of-the-art technology will be incorporated through a remote control system for digitization and centralized integral management of water distribution and consumption throughout the network.

These works are carried out within the Irrigation Efficiency and Sustainability Plan of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan Phase II executed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food through SEIASA and are co-financed by Next Generation funds of the European Union. Its public-private nature means that the public contribution will be a maximum of 80% of the cost of eligible expenses. The remaining amount will be contributed by the irrigating communities.
Both actions have an execution period of 24 months and are scheduled to end in 2026.

140.83 million euros in Catalonia

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has programmed in Catalonia an investment, through SEIASA, of 140.83 million euros, within the Plan for the improvement of efficiency and sustainability in irrigation included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, in eight actions of modernization of irrigation.