Irrigated agriculture in the Vega Baja faces a change of model: higher costs, less water and new crops

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Agriculture in the Vega Baja is facing the need to reconsider its traditional economic model. Water resources remain limited, the cost of maintaining hydraulic infrastructure is rising, and the profitability of traditional crops increasingly depends on water, energy, fertiliser and labour costs, as well as market conditions. Farmers therefore need to find not only ways to use water more efficiently, but also new ways of organising production.

The latest trigger for this debate is the tariff proposal for 2027 published by the Segura River Basin Authority (Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura, CHS). It concerns users receiving water from the Segura, Mundo and Quípar rivers and sets different rates for historic irrigation areas and those established later.

The CHS proposal: a 30.9% increase for historic irrigation

According to the notice published in Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE) on 30 October 2026, the proposed regulation charge for irrigation areas established before 1933 is €26.30 per hectare. The document states that the rate could apply to 40,777 hectares.

For irrigation areas established after 1933, the proposed rate is €17.75 per hectare, covering 26,531 hectares. For the Hellín irrigation zone, the proposed rate is €7.10 per hectare, applying to 3,135 hectares.

For historic irrigation, this represents an increase compared with the approved 2026 rate of €20.09 per hectare: an additional €6.21, or approximately 30.9%.

One point needs to be made clear: at the time of writing, this is a proposal open to public consultation, not a final approved tariff. The announced period for submitting objections is 15 days, starting on the day after publication of the notice.

Applying the €6.21 difference to the 40,777 hectares listed by the CHS produces an arithmetic estimate of approximately €253,000 in additional annual charges across the area. This is a calculation based on the total area stated in the notice, not a forecast of actual revenue or an individual farmer’s bill.

There is another important distinction. The canon de regulación is not the price of a cubic metre of water, nor is it the irrigator’s total water bill. It is linked to the operating and maintenance costs of water-regulation infrastructure, the administrative expenses attributable to those works, and part of the value of public investment. A farm’s actual costs also include other items: water transport, distribution within the irrigation community, electricity for pumping, equipment maintenance and other charges.

The increase in this charge therefore cannot automatically be translated into the same percentage increase in total agricultural production costs. However, for farms operating on narrow margins, even a relatively small increase in fixed costs can matter.

Why charges from different irrigation systems cannot be compared directly

The CHS tariff proposals for 2027 show substantial differences. For users of the Segura, Mundo and Quípar river systems, the proposed rate for historic irrigation is €26.30 per hectare. For users of the Argos reservoir, it is €87.23 per hectare. In the La Cierva system, rates for different irrigation communities range from approximately €179 to €268 per hectare. For users of the Puentes and Valdeinfierno reservoirs associated with the Lorca Irrigation Community, the proposed rate is €34.92 per hectare.

These figures illustrate how different the financing conditions of individual hydraulic systems can be. They should not, however, be treated as a ranking of water prices or as a direct comparison of farmers’ total costs. The infrastructure, user groups, regulation conditions and expenses allocated to each group differ.

A meaningful comparison would require data on the full cost of water at farm level: regulation and transport charges, electricity costs, network maintenance, distribution losses and the conditions under which water is supplied. A single per-hectare indicator cannot provide that picture.

Lemon groves and the search for new crops: there is no universal replacement

Traditional citrus growing remains an important part of the Vega Baja’s agricultural identity. Yet the economic position of an individual farm depends on more than yield per hectare. Purchase prices, fruit quality and size, harvesting and grading costs, fertiliser and plant-protection costs, energy, logistics and water availability all affect the result.

The debate over declining profitability in lemon growing therefore cannot be reduced to a single cause. Nor can it be claimed that all producers in the region are switching on a large scale to one particular alternative crop. Such a conclusion would require comparable data on cultivated areas, yields, revenues and costs specifically for the Vega Baja.

Spain’s experience offers several paths for adaptation. In Almería, intensive horticulture has developed over decades with the support of experimental stations, applied research, precision-irrigation technologies, biological pest control and knowledge transfer to producers. The Cajamar Las Palmerillas Experimental Station has been operating since 1975 and is part of a wider agricultural innovation ecosystem.

In Catalonia, IRTA research and demonstration networks allow technologies to be tested directly on farms. These include soil-moisture sensors, water-use meters and tools for assessing crop irrigation requirements. In Andalusia, IFAPA research programmes examine water and nutrient management in berry production.

In Murcia, IMIDA research covers citrus, stone fruit, grapes and other agricultural sectors. For the Vega Baja, work assessing new citrus varieties and rootstocks adapted to local soils, water salinity, drought and climatic stress is particularly relevant. ASAJA Alicante and IVIA are involved in this area of work.

National statistics also show the expansion of some alternative crops. For example, the area devoted to pistachios has increased in Spain. But this national trend does not prove that pistachios have already become a widespread replacement for lemons in the Vega Baja. New perennial crops also require investment and time before reaching full production. Each has its own requirements in terms of water, soil, climate, harvesting and marketing.

A sensible strategy therefore does not necessarily mean abandoning lemons. It may involve renewing varieties and rootstocks, improving product quality, changing agronomic practices, diversifying crops and strengthening cooperation in purchasing, storage and marketing.

Drip irrigation saves water, but that is not enough

Drip irrigation and digital irrigation management make it possible to deliver water more precisely to the root zone. When properly designed and adjusted, these systems reduce losses, help control soil moisture and can increase productivity per unit of water used.

But efficiency on an individual plot and water savings across an entire river basin are not the same thing.

A study by CEIGRAM at the Technical University of Madrid, covering the period 2004–2023, indicates that Spain’s total cultivated area declined by approximately 846,000 hectares, while irrigated land increased by more than 413,000 hectares. The area devoted to irrigated perennial crops grew particularly strongly during this period.

This does not mean that irrigation modernisation is ineffective. On the contrary, assessments of modernisation between 2001 and 2019 indicate substantial water savings. However, some of the water released through efficiency improvements may be used to expand cultivated areas or intensify production. Improving irrigation efficiency therefore does not automatically guarantee a reduction in total water withdrawals.

Sustainable water management requires more than modern drip lines and sensors. It also requires monitoring actual withdrawals at river-basin level, transparent accounting, reasonable limits and coordination between agricultural policy and available water resources.

Who funds agricultural innovation, and what does it mean for the Vega Baja?

The Spanish experience shows that successful agricultural change rarely comes from purchasing a single technology. Organisations that connect research, funding, field trials and the transfer of results to farmers are essential.

This system involves public research centres, regional institutes, universities, agricultural cooperatives, financial institutions and private technology companies. At European level, the AEI-AGRI framework supports operational innovation groups and joint projects between agriculture and science.

In May 2025, Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture announced a funding call for supra-regional innovation projects with a budget of €46.5 million. The planned funding scheme combined European funds and the national budget.

For the Vega Baja, the key issue is not simply whether such programmes exist. Local organisations must be able to prepare projects, bring farmers, researchers and technology companies together, and transfer trial results to individual farms. The region needs solutions tested against its own soils, water quality, climate, farm structure and marketing channels.

The main conclusion: the Vega Baja is not facing only the task of reducing water consumption. It must renew the economic model of its irrigated agriculture. This requires reliable data on the real cost of water, transparent rules for allocating expenses, the adaptation of varieties and crops, applied research and cooperation between producers. Neither drip irrigation, nor a new crop, nor a subsidy will solve the problem on its own. Progress will depend on combining agronomic, technological, economic and management changes.