Spanish irrigation groups push for water infrastructure reforms

The Federación de Regantes del Alto Guadiana (FERGUALT) met in Tomelloso with a range of agricultural organisations to consolidate a common front defending groundwater users in the Alto Guadiana basin. President Ángel Bellón warned that reduced water supplies and loss of irrigation rights would cause serious socio‑economic problems and called for external water input, reuse, savings measures and legislative initiatives ahead of the next hydraulic planning cycle.

In Extremadura, the Asociación de Comunidades de Regantes de Extremadura (Regantex) held talks with Cáceres provincial president Miguel Ángel Morales, urging a coordinated plan to renew ageing irrigation infrastructure that serves about 181,000 hectares. Regantex highlighted that many canals and conduits, built between the 1950s and 1970s, have exceeded their useful life, and stressed the need for state, regional and hydrographic entities to cooperate on upgrades and the maintenance of rural roads that support farming and local communities.