ISHS Acta Horticulturae 155: VIII Symposium on Horticultural Economics
INFLUENCE OF WATER COST AND IRRIGATION METHODS ON THE ECONOMY OF HORTICULTURAL FARMS |
| Author: | J. Hernández Esteruelas |
| Abstract:
New horticultural farms are appearing in different arid areas of - our country. Farmers are trying to make good use of the climatological advantages (few risks of frost, early flowering and harvest) in order to supply their products to markets prior to other less privileged areas. The Spanish expectations of joining the EEC, the technological innovations and the search for a higher agricultural profitability, have hastened this trend. The main effort to enlarging our horticultural capacity is focused on the eastern and southern regions of Spain, the Canarian and Balearic Islands, as well as some small districts with favourable micro-climate. However, the low rainfall and poor water resources, the big investments required for land irrigation and the lack of financial resources are the main obstacles for the expanding of those farms. Furthermore, the EEC itself has recommended Spain not to enlarge the irrigated areas because this enlargement is carried out with subsidies granted by the State which discriminate the European farmers. Although it is true that the new irrigation techniques allow the expansion of the irrigated surface in Spain, it is also true that this expansion is only possible by increasing investments very much and taking higher risks. For this reason I think that EEC statements have to be refuted through a thorough explanation of irrigation costs in our country and through balanced and orderly production practices easily controled by the Administration. The costs derived from irrigation can be classified into three groups.
The sum of all these costs will determine their influence on horticultural production. The first costs are those corresponding to the cost of water used for irrigation. Unlike in other areas, in the arid part of Spain water is really a scarce resource. The competition for the obtention of water and the great demand for this resource for different uses (domestic, industrial, energetic, irrigation, ecosystem conservation) because of the scarce supply, results in very high water prices. Costs interval may vary from 1 to 15 pesetas/m3 of water used. For example, an electrical company which owns a canal in the Province of Lérida sets a fee of 7 pesetas/m3 to be paid by those using the water from that canal. In order to ser this fee they calculate the substitution cost of the fuel required to produce the same electrical energy as that produced by water in a hydroelectric waterfall belonging to this company | |
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