The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, signed this Thursday in Lanzarote the irrigation project of the north of the island. Within the framework of the Plan for the improvement of efficiency and sustainability in irrigation, the Project for Modernization and Improvement of Irrigation in Tinajo and Teguise is included.
The project will have a total investment of 24.4 million euros, from Next Generation funds, within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).
This initiative will allow the modernization of 300 hectares, mainly of horticultural crops, and will benefit 667 irrigators. For this, the construction of a seawater desalination plant by reverse osmosis (which will be located in the current northeast treatment plant of Lanzarote), a pumping station, a wind turbine, a pond and a reservoir, as well as an irrigation network is planned.
In addition, the new facilities will have a remote measurement system and the impulsion will have a remote control system. Planas stressed the "important value of this project to achieve a more sustainable agriculture", as it will "take advantage of unconventional water sources; promote the use of renewable energies, with the consequent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the reduction of the energy bill for irrigators; and promote generational change, by improving the quality of life of farmers".
He insisted on the "special importance of water for agriculture" of arid islands, such as the Canary Islands, "and its availability will allow the production of high-value food, reducing its external dependence." For the minister, "investment in irrigation not only makes irrigation communities more prosperous wherever they are carried out, but is a projection of the future to guarantee food security, especially for a territory such as the Canary Islands due to its outermost region condition".
In his speech, the minister stated that the Government of Spain is promoting the "largest investment in irrigation modernization in its history, with 2,416 million euros between 2022 and 2027", the "triple" of what had been invested in the previous two decades. Of this amount, "1,331 million euros come from the Recovery Plan", which the Government wanted to allocate to the modernization of irrigation, "a magnificent opportunity to achieve sustainable, modern and efficient irrigation, which is a guarantee of the future".
Among the 97 irrigation modernization actions promoted by the Recovery Plan, there are about twenty aimed at taking advantage of unconventional sources, with an investment of around 216 million euros, and affecting some 33,000 irrigators. "This is a response, at the national level but also for the Canary Islands, to many of the concerns that the Canary farmers themselves have expressed in recent days."
Planas valued the "important effort" of the Government in terms of irrigation modernization to help the agricultural sector successfully face the challenges it faces. The minister stressed that the investment in irrigation modernization in the Canary Islands "amounts to 79 million euros" to finance nine actions, "the largest investment in the Canary Islands in recent years", which demonstrates the Government's commitment to the development of these territories.
The minister was convinced that a "sustainable, modern and efficient irrigation is a guarantee of the future, not only to ensure a stable production of food, but also as a generator of wealth and employment".
He also expressed the need to "make good use of every drop of water", both from "conventional resources, as well as from sources such as seawater desalination, brackish water purification or reclaimed water." According to him, the "efficient use of water is key in a situation of climate change" and "responds" to some of the main demands of the Canary farmers.
