The Government will issue on Tuesday a €25 million call for proposals to repair and improve irrigation infrastructures affected by the storm train, announced today by the Minister of Agriculture.
“On September 1 [Tuesday] we will launch another call for proposals to improve the irrigation systems that were affected by the storm train. We will move forward with €25 million,” stated José Manuel Fernandes.
The new support adds to €35 million whose applications have already been approved, bringing to €60 million the investment allocated to repair the affected infrastructures, the minister clarified, on the sidelines of a visit to the modernization works of the Bravura dam, in the municipality of Lagos, in the district of Faro.
According to José Manuel Fernandes, the €60 million allocated to repairs is financed by the State Budget, while other investments in the modernization of agricultural water infrastructures rely on European funds, namely the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
The minister visited the Bravura dam where a project of around €15 million is underway, aimed at increasing water efficiency and preventing the current water losses in the Alvor irrigation perimeter.
According to the minister, the project will allow savings of about 60%, equivalent to 19 million cubic meters of water per year, with an estimated financial impact of around €2 million annually.
The minister framed the investments within the “Water Strategy that Unites,” which foresees an investment of €5.4 billion by 2030 and a further about €4 billion by 2040.
For José Manuel Fernandes, this is “one of the most structural projects” for the country, arguing that water management must reconcile the needs of agriculture, human consumption, tourism and industry.
“Water is essential to produce food, for human consumption, for tourism and industry, and these capacities must be reconciled,” he contended.
According to the minister, works currently underway on the part of the Ministry of Agriculture amount to around €600 million, to which about €1.6 billion in investments in the Environment sector are added.
José Manuel Fernandes also argued that modernization and the increase of water efficiency are fundamental to reinforce competitiveness and the attractiveness of territories, while simultaneously contributing to territorial cohesion.
The minister also highlighted the importance of Algarve agriculture for the economy and for food security, defending the need to reduce the country’s agri-food deficit.
In addition to investments in infrastructure, the Government is moving forward with a €20 million boost in support for the purchase of fertilizers, announced.
The objective, he explained, “is to increase farmers’ income by reducing costs resulting from greater efficiency and modernization, but also through direct income support.”
José Manuel Fernandes, finally, advocated a transversal use of the various funding instruments, considering that the regional operational programs, Compete 2030 and the Environmental Fund “must also contribute” to the development of agriculture.
“This transversal vision is also essential to improve agriculture,” he concluded.
