Order TED/918/2023 has been published in the BOE (Official State Gazette) of 2 August, approving the regulatory bases for the granting of aid through competitive tendering for the development of digitalisation projects for irrigation water user communities within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, and approving the call for the year 2023.

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Transición Ecológica

This first call, which has a budget of 100 million euros, is aimed at digitalisation projects for irrigation that contribute to improving knowledge of water use in the environment and transparency in administrative management. It also includes initiatives to improve water losses on irrigated farms, the use of water on irrigated farms and the use of fertilisers and pesticides, as well as improving energy efficiency on irrigated farms and, in general, their productivity.

The call for applications establishes several credit reserves which, if not exhausted, will be accumulated to the general line:

25,000,000 euros for applications submitted by user communities supplied by groundwater bodies formally declared to be at risk of failing to comply with environmental objectives.

25,000,000 euros for applications submitted by user communities supplied from groundwater bodies that do not reach good status.
10,000,000 euros for applications submitted by user communities supplied by surface water bodies that do not reach good status.
From the operational point of view, the implementation of this process revolves around the so-called Irrigation Digitalisation Solutions Catalogue, made up of seven components:

Digital Solution A. Creation of an application for electronic processing and a web portal.
Digital solution B. Creation of inventories and web services of geographic information systems and cadastral identification of the agricultural parcel and irrigation network.
Digital solution C. Technological improvements and digitalisation of the systems for monitoring the volume of water actually used.
Digital solution D. Monitoring of water content in the soil for irrigation optimisation.
Digital solution E. Monitoring of water quality in irrigation returns to surface watercourses.
Digital solution F. Monitoring of leachates to groundwater.
Digital solution G. Support to remote control, monitoring and support to fertigation and improvement of energy efficiency.
Irrigation communities will submit projects based on their technological needs according to these seven digital solutions.

The projects will be selected on a competitive basis from among the projects submitted that meet the established requirements. The technical quality of the proposal will be assessed, taking into account, at all times, environmental, social and strategic criteria for the selection of projects through an assessment committee between the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA).

The aid will range from 100,000 euros to 2 million euros per project as a general rule, with maximum amounts established by digital solution, irrigable area and other aspects established in the bases.

The deadline for submitting applications will be from 30/10/2023 to 13/12/2023. For this purpose, all the required information and documentation will be provided on the corresponding web portal of the call and through the MITECO’s electronic headquarters.

The following mailbox is available for queries regarding the call for applications: bzn-perte-ciclo-agua@miteco.es