Smart Green Water | Dissemination of innovative solutions and capacity building for smart irrigation

The Smart Green Water project aims to implement smart specialization strategies for a more sustainable and resilient agricultural sector, addressing current climate challenges. Partners from France, Spain, and Portugal collaborate on the digitalization of agriculture, seeking to optimize water use and improve efficiency in water resource management.

Methodology

A two-level methodology was used to conduct a territorial diagnosis:

• Level 1: Collection of macro information on the agricultural ecosystem, regional policies, and digital solutions.
• Level 2: Interviews with irrigation sector experts to obtain detailed information on the current use of digital tools and the obstacles they face.

A total of 82 people were interviewed, allowing for the collection of relevant data on the irrigation situation in each participating country.

Agricultural Context

The document highlights the importance of irrigation in agriculture, especially in regions with Mediterranean climates such as Spain, Portugal, and southern France. Despite the growing demand for irrigation, there has been a reduction in water uptake for this purpose between 1990 and 2015 due to historical policies and technological improvements.

Regional Analysis

France

In France, irrigation represents approximately 60% of total agricultural water extractions. The regions of Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine are key in agricultural production, with a significant increase in irrigable area due to climate changes.

Spain

Spain shows a high dependence on irrigation, especially in regions such as Andalusia, Murcia, and Catalonia. Irrigation infrastructure has developed considerably to support intensive crops, being vital to maintain agricultural production.

Portugal

The analysis also includes data on water use in Portugal, highlighting the areas dedicated to irrigation and its importance for local agriculture.

Conclusions

The Southwest European region, covering parts of France, Spain and Portugal, faces significant challenges and opportunities in the adoption of digital solutions for smart irrigation. Key findings include:

• Importance of digital solutions: digital tools are crucial to optimise water use, improve crop yields and make agriculture more resilient to climate change. However, the adoption rate of these technologies remains relatively low.
• Regional variations: There are significant differences in the adoption and use of digital tools between regions. For example, regions such as Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France, Andalusia and Murcia in Spain, and Alentejo in Portugal have different levels of digital tool deployment and infrastructure.
• Barriers to adoption: Common barriers include high upfront costs, lack of technical know-how, inadequate infrastructure (especially internet connectivity) and resistance to change among farmers. These barriers hinder the widespread adoption of digital irrigation technologies.
• Need for training and support: There is a strong need for training programmes to improve digital literacy among farmers and provide ongoing technical support. This will help farmers to understand and effectively use digital irrigation tools.
• Financial incentives: Financial support, such as grants, subsidies and low-interest loans, is essential to reduce the economic burden on farmers and encourage the adoption of digital technologies.

Overall, the paper highlights the potential of digital solutions to transform agriculture in the Southwest European region, but emphasises the need to coordinate efforts to overcome existing barriers and support farmers in this transition.

Attached documents (in Spanish)

Smart_Green_Water_Diagnostico_territorial_ES