The irrigators' community of the Urgell Canals positively assesses the new working approach established with the Department of Agriculture to advance modernization by collectives, seeing it as a significant step to adapt the project to the territory's reality. However, it warns that the agreement cannot be considered complete until a key issue is resolved: the financing of farm furnishing.
The president of the irrigators, Amadeu Ros, emphasized that "there is a shared will to move forward, but the agreement will not be complete until we have a clear solution for furnishing." He cautioned that "we cannot speak of fully viable modernization if the cost, which in many cases is difficult to bear, is left to each irrigator."
We cannot speak of fully viable modernization if the cost, which in many cases is difficult to bear, is left to each irrigator.
The irrigators' community recalls that this demand has institutional support, as the plenary of the Parliament of Catalonia has urged the Government to strengthen the funding allocated for farm furnishing, for both professional and non-professional farmers. This issue was also discussed in the Agriculture Commission, where Amadeu Ros presented the irrigators' position, stressing the need for aid to encompass all irrigators.
It is now necessary to translate this political commitment into a viable proposal. Therefore, the irrigators' community will raise this matter in upcoming meetings with the Department of Agriculture, the General Secretariat, and the Directorate General for Rural Development, seeking a consensual solution. The community advocates for effective and adapted modernization, initiating the process where there is the most consensus, but emphasizes that the momentum will only consolidate with a clear economic framework.
Modernizing the Urgell Canals is a necessity and an opportunity, but we must do it well, without leaving anyone behind due to the cost of furnishing.
Amadeu Ros highlighted that to guarantee the project's success, "we need to provide security, build trust, and make it affordable for all irrigators." The community insists that modernization is a strategic transformation for the future of the Lleida plain, the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, and more efficient water management, making the resolution of furnishing financing essential to reach a satisfactory agreement.
