As every 22 March, since 1993, we celebrate World Water Day. The United Nations established it with the aim of highlighting the importance of freshwater on our planet. This year we celebrate this day under the slogan “Groundwater, making the invisible visible” with the aim of raising awareness of the global water crisis, highlighting the defence of sustainable management of freshwater resources and continuing the fight to ensure access to clean water and adequate sanitation for the entire world population by 2030.
Although it is a problem that has been dragging on for years, 2022 has been a turning point in the shortage of water for crop irrigation. This is a matter of utmost concern in our country and in territories in Portugal and Italy.
The drought has caused substantial changes in agricultural activity and large areas have been left uncultivated due to the lack of water. For example, in areas of Extremadura, Seville and the south and centre of Portugal it has not been possible to sow rice due to empty river basins.
Specifically, in Spain, since the start of the hydrological year in October 2021, the national average rainfall value has been 41.1% below the normal value. The national hydraulic reserve, on 15 March, stood at 40.7% of the total reservoir capacity, 12 points below the average of the last five years.
This situation is of such magnitude that the Spanish government has recently approved a package of urgent measures in different areas to support the agricultural sector and help it cope with the drought.
At EDYPRO we are committed to sustainable development and we work hard to continue optimising all the natural resources that our planet offers us. Water is an indispensable resource for the life of all of us who inhabit the Earth and the role it plays in agriculture is of vital importance. It is essential to continue developing a more efficient use of this resource. And in this line we highlight the precision irrigation system that we already told you about in this post as one of the options to be taken into account as they represent a considerable saving of water. Also the use of products that maximise the efficiency of water use in crops or that act on water to reduce the amount of water used in irrigation.
Spain is currently one of the countries in Europe with the highest water stress. It is vitally important to continue working along these lines, seeking systems and methods to increase the efficiency and productivity of water use in agriculture, and EDYPRO would like to join in the celebration of this day in which we note the need to protect and conserve our groundwater, which, despite being hidden, is an essential resource for our planet.