In recent decades, Spanish water policies have promoted modernisation processes of varying intensity and technical characteristics, i.e. different modernisations or modernisation models. These modernisations have consumed a large amount of public and private resources.
Investments are going to increase with the development of PERTE for the digitalisation of irrigation systems, which in many cases will mean a new technological leap towards intelligent and precision agriculture.
Previous modernisations have been unable, in many cases and for several reasons, to generate real savings at basin scale, and have had various expected and unexpected effects of different kinds, negative and positive. However, apart from some partial approaches, the results of these modernisations have not been comprehensively addressed. It is time to evaluate the results obtained, not only in terms of water savings, but above all in terms of other effects and to distinguish the effects of the different modernisations.
It is also important to know how the different modernisations prepare farms for the future, taking into account the critical situation of Mediterranean farming systems.
The central objective of IrriGo is to identify and characterise the different transformations associated with these processes of technological change, in order to identify how they affect the resilience of irrigation systems. Also, to estimate their future response to the challenges associated with climate change processes and the socio-economic and territorial changes derived from globalisation.
The aim is to determine under what conditions modernised irrigation systems can contribute to the well-being of the rural population and territories in the context of climate change, rural depopulation and the behaviour of global agricultural markets.
Title
Gobernanza de las modernizaciones de regadío frente al cambio global: transformaciones ecosociales y efectos sobre la resilencia.
Duration
2024-2028
Budget
255.750€
Coordinated by
Universitat Politècnica de València
IrriGo deploys various methodologies, with a strong emphasis on participatory activities.
The project will develop surveys at national and local level, with irrigation communities and farmers; interviews with and data collection from experts and representatives of irrigation communities; focus groups, meetings and workshops.
The results of these participatory sources will be processed by various qualitative and quantitative analysis and modelling methods.