Santa Cruz de Tenerife 13 Feb. (Europa Press) –
The Government of the Canary Islands will allocate 7.55 million euros to the Andrés-Isora supporting irrigation network initiative in Valverde (El Hierro), with the first phase set to be completed over a period of fifteen months. This project aims, in essence, to address the water requirements of El Hierro and enhance the existing irrigated area in the region.
This irrigation network will function as an auxiliary structure for crops that, due to low rainfall and peak demand periods, necessitate a support system to achieve satisfactory yields, as explained by the Canarian government in a statement.
Furthermore, farms may install water points that enable the incorporation of more efficient systems, such as sprinklers or drip irrigation, allowing for controlled irrigation that circumvents the need to use potable water for agricultural purposes.
The Drought
Fernando Clavijo, the president of the Canarian government, emphasised the drought as “one of the most significant challenges facing the primary sector globally”. Consequently, he has advocated for the executive’s priority commitment to counteract its effects, ensuring the continuity of agricultural activity and rural communities, while promoting resilience in the face of climate change.
Additionally, Clavijo recalled exceptional measures taken in this regard, such as “subsidies totalling 3.87 million euros provided this year to help compensate for the economic losses endured by Canarian farmers due to the drought. This is alongside the purchase of ten desalination plants for agricultural irrigation, with a total cost of 13.4 million euros.”
Of this latter amount, the president highlighted that 1.55 million euros will be allocated as a subsidy to El Hierro to facilitate two of these facilities, which will collectively have a capacity of 2,600 cubic metres per day.
Initial Phase
The initial phase of the project has been assigned a budget of 3.82 million euros, covering both irrigation networks with an overall length of 39,563 metres, as well as four reservoirs – two in Entremontañas, each with a capacity of 2,200 m³, and two in Isora, with a capacity of 1,100 cubic metres each.
The area designated for this infrastructure encompasses a total of 12,928 metres, primarily belonging to a dozen branches of the San Andrés network, which will extend for 10,714 metres.
The remainder of the layout primarily corresponds to the connection transfer with the Isora irrigation tank, which will be constructed in a subsequent phase, along with a minor stretch of adduction and the two reservoirs in Entremontañas, situated at an elevation of 1,180 metres above sea level, on a 10,409 m² plot adjacent to the HI-4 road.
This project, initiated during both his presidency and directorship, will enable the Canarian Executive to establish an auxiliary network with an initial ability to irrigate 35.28 hectares of crops. However, the infrastructure has been designed to potentially serve 65.16 hectares through systems such as sprinkling or dripping, which facilitate optimal yield with efficient water resource consumption. The total irrigated area will reach 124.92 hectares.
Additional Notes
During a workday in El Hierro, the president, accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, Narvay Quintero, visited the False Tunnel of Pie de Accos, alongside the mayor of Frontera, Pablo Rodríguez Cejas, the general director of road infrastructure, Rosana Melián, the head of the technical department, Ángel Mejías, and the project director, Luis Miguel Seijas.
This initiative, concerning the roadway that connects the health well with the beach of the wood in the Frontera municipality, involves creating a 243-metre-long false tunnel open to the sea to safeguard road users from landslides along the adjacent slope to the HI-500 road, which previously necessitated a detour of an additional 50 kilometres via alternate routes on the island.
“This work, which had long been stalled, has been successfully reactivated during this term. It is progressing well and will be executed in sections to avoid total road closures, thus maintaining local mobility, and is being integrated into the natural environment,” stated the president.
“These projects, awarded for 4.5 million euros, exemplify our commitment through the Ministry of Public Works, Housing, and Mobility of the Government of the Canary Islands to improve roads across all islands, fostering better connectivity across the Canary Islands,” added the general director.
Currently, the works are in the phase of assembling, transferring, and installing prefabricated components for this project, which anticipates the construction of an articulated earth wall of 1,600 square metres, comprising 800 prefabricated concrete panels, spanning over 243 metres at an average height of 6 metres, reinforced with horizontal metallic reinforcements.
Additionally, a base has been constructed on the seaside to accommodate metal casings for the introduction of 58 prefabricated pillars of a 60×60 structure, each weighing nearly 5 tonnes and averaging 5.20 metres in height.
