Valencian water minister denounces cuts to Tajo‑Segura transfer at awards ceremony

On 14 May, the IV Premios del Tribunal de las Aguas were presented in Benejúzar, Spain, honoring individuals and firms for defending traditional irrigation and agriculture in the Vega Baja region. The ceremony was attended by the water court’s judge José Bernabé, mayor Vicente Cases and regional minister Miguel Barrachina, who highlighted the historic role of the water court and the importance of the area’s 500‑km irrigation network.

During his speech, Barrachina sharply criticized the Spanish government’s water policy, accusing it of “incoherence and agravio” for funding projects in Morocco while cutting the Tajo‑Segura transfer by 50 %. He warned that the reduction would jeopardise thousands of hectares of farmland and the livelihoods of agricultural families in the Valencian Community, Murcia and Andalusia. Barrachina also outlined the region’s own investments: €99 million for irrigation modernisation, including €57 million for the Vega Baja, and a push to digitise 85 % of agricultural land.

Award winners—Francisco de Asís Cabezas Calvo‑Rubio, SAT Olé, Perales y Ferrer S.L., and Esteban Ferrández Reina—each stressed the need to preserve water resources, sustain the local economy and modernise farming practices.