The Council of Tenerife will invest 6.5 million euros in the four municipalities that make up the Isla Baja Consortium, with the aim of promoting agricultural activity in the region: Buenavista del Norte, Garachico, Los Silos and El Tanque. Among the planned actions, the waterproofing of the Taco Mountain pond, a project for the conduction of reclaimed water or the replacement of 301 agricultural water meters stand out.
It was announced yesterday by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Javier Parrilla, after a meeting with the president of the Daute-Isla Baja Consortium, José Gregorio Pérez Medina; the mayor of Los Silos, Macarena Fuentes; the councilor for the Primary Sector and Waters of Garachico, José Elvis; and the Councilor for Agriculture of El Tanque, David Modesto.
During the meeting, Parrilla assured that “the reclaimed water pipeline project from the municipality of La Guancha to Isla Baja will be delivered shortly, as will the start-up of the Underground Water Desalination Station (EDAS) in El Reventón, which will provide a large volume of water to the region and will reduce the water pressure in the water supply.
The island official recalled that “as a result of climate change, crop areas that were traditionally rainfed are being forced to become irrigated crops, which is why the Cabildo wants to continue taking firm steps in introducing high-quality reclaimed water. quality for agricultural use.
Other issues that were disclosed were: the installation by the public company Balten, dependent on the Island Corporation, of photovoltaic panels in the Ravelo hydraulic complex (at an approximate cost of 267,987 euros), the replacement of 301 agricultural water meters that are more than 12 years old (1.8 million euros), and the waterproofing of the Taco Mountain Basin (1.7 million).
The counselor stressed that in recent years the area cultivated in the region has increased by 111.99 hectares. Buenavista is the municipality with the highest growth, with a total of 53 hectares, followed by El Tanque, with 50.13 hectares. In the same way, he indicated that in 2021 the agricultural extension agents assisted more than 1,200 people and that Isla Baja has more than 15 projects linked to intensive horticulture, cereals and fodder, agricultural biodiversity, the development of rural or organic farming.
Finally, Javier Parrilla applauded the work carried out by the Tenerife Irrigation Office in the region, and recalled that the Cabildo will put out to tender the enclosure and roof project for the rest area of the El Tanque Ecomuseum, for more than 100,000 euros .
