The new PAC has an environmental ambition to which, according to the Minister, "irrigation can contribute and that is why we are asking that it be considered an environmental practice within the eco-scheme system".
The works that the Ministry has to carry out to complete Payuelos, according to the allocation of the Coordinated Plan of Works, are those corresponding to the sectors of the High Canal of Payuelos in the central area, that is to say, sectors VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII and XIV, which will mean an investment of close to 96 million euros to transform 11,583 hectares.
The Board's firm commitment to agricultural policies linked to irrigation
Following the presentation of the Agricultural Infrastructure Programme of General Interest in February this year in Sahagún, the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development has been implementing all the actions set out, bringing forward the commitments for their start in this year 2020.
Thus, the Minister stressed that "the Ministry has already done its homework in advance, beyond what was planned for after 2021, we undertook to finish our intervention in the Coordinated Plan of Works in the Payuelos area, and today it is already a reality, because all the actions have already started here".
Currently, the actions corresponding to sectors XXII and XXIV of the Cea Area of the High Canal have been completed, and sector XXIII, which will begin to irrigate next season, is about to be completed. In addition, work has already been awarded for sector XVII, the last sector to be executed by the Castile and Leon Regional Government, on which work will begin immediately.
With regard to electrical infrastructure, the electrical lines serving the sectors of Área Cea of the Canal Alto have been completed, and the electrical line for sectors IX, X, XI, XII, XVIII, XIX and XXI is being completed.
Likewise, the tender for the last action to be carried out by this administration of all those contemplated in the Coordinated Works Plan has already been authorised, which is the electric line for sectors VII, VIII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII and XX.
In addition, the execution of the sectors corresponding to the Junta de Castilla y León is being carried out in full, with the rural infrastructures of the land consolidation (network of roads and drainage) unlike the sectors executed by the Ministry, where these actions are not included in the works, remaining pending for a later phase.
Modernisation
The Government of Castile and Leon has established a model financing system for the modernisation of irrigation which is a reference throughout the country, as can be seen in the Programme for Agricultural Infrastructures of General Interest, the RDP and the budgets.
Carnero has made it clear that "it is an essential and necessary area of work from the agricultural, social and environmental point of view, and this will be demonstrated this year in the 2021 budgets of the Regional Ministry, which include more than 30 actions in the field of agricultural infrastructure linked to irrigation (new and modernisation), with an allocation of more than 50 million euros, reflecting the undeniable commitment of the Regional Government to Rural Development".
In this regard, the Minister thanked the Minister for his support in the draft State Budget 2021 for modernising irrigation in Castile and Leon and also asked him to continue collaborating to carry out modernisation and transformation actions in ten areas of the Community, which will affect more than 50,000 hectares, for which the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Programme should be used.
The importance of new irrigation
The importance of having well diversified and modernised areas in terms of irrigation, means a clear improvement in competitiveness. So much so that the gross value added per hectare is 3.5 times higher than that of non-irrigated land.
Moreover, the number of young farmers joining the industry is 6.5 times higher in areas with a high intensity of irrigation than in non-irrigated areas, and the population density is 3 times higher in areas with a high intensity of irrigation than in non-irrigated areas.
