The president of the State Mercantile Society of Agrarian Infrastructures SEIASA, Francisco Rodríguez Mulero, has today signed an agreement with several irrigation communities of A Limia (Ourense) to activate an investment of 19.24 million euros (15.90 million plus VAT) in irrigation modernization works within the framework of Phase II of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Government of Spain.

The “Improvement project for the irrigation use of the 42 catchments of the groundwater A Limia 2022” includes the irrigation communities of Lamas-Ganade, Alta Limia, Corno do Monte and San Salvador de Sabucedo and benefits 1,855 irrigators who cultivate 2,576 hectares in the municipalities of Xinzo de Limia, Trasmire, Sarreaus and Porqueira, in the province of Ourense.

The Government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco and the Government subdelegate in Ourense, Emilio González Afonso, participated in the signing. The conselleiro of Medio Rural de la Xunta de Galicia, José González Vázquez, among other authorities, also attended the event.

The Government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, highlighted the importance of this firm, which is “another milestone in the Government’s commitment to the modernization of the primary sector, key in the community, and its transition to a model in which both productivity and the reduction of its impact on the environment are prioritized.”

WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The objective of the action is to replace the current irrigation systems with diesel engine pumps and surface aluminum pipes, with modern pressurized irrigation networks fed by groundwater catchments and with remote control

The new infrastructure will be equipped with pumping and filtering stations, hydrants, photovoltaic solar installations and regulation and storage elements, so that the farmer has a pressurized water intake close to his plot and integrated into an automation and remote control system.

The installation of buried pipes will allow to improve the efficiency in the transport of the water pumped from the catchments to the plots, resulting in savings of up to 20 percent of the resources. The implementation of renewable energies will avoid the current energy dependency on fossil fuels such as diesel, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs. And finally, the automation and telecontrol system will make it possible to digitize irrigation management in an integral way.

All the actions included in the “Irrigation Efficiency and Sustainability Improvement Plan” of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan are co-financed by Next Generation funds of the European Union. The public contribution will be a maximum of 80 percent of the cost of eligible expenses, while each community of irrigators will have to contribute the rest. In addition, the works must be completed in 2026.

COMPLEMENTARY INVESTMENTS

In addition to the 19.24 million euros of the agreement signed today, the Government has appropriated another 23 million euros (19.10 million euros plus VAT) to include distribution networks, electrical connections and the construction of photovoltaic plants that will serve the irrigation communities.

This budget extension will be financed from the Addendum to the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan that Spain has just sent to the European Commission for approval and included, once approved, in the agreement signed between SEIASA and the Nova Limia irrigation community.