Bridging water scarcity in agriculture: a Dutch innovation mission to Spain

The Dutch Ministry organizes innovation missions to accelerate innovation in the sectors of Agriculture Nature and Food. By connecting parties internationally these missions provide a stage for exchange of knowledge internationally. The recent mission to Spain immersed participants in the Spanish reality for three days. The program connected governance, technology and innovation across the water-agriculture sector. This mission also built upon an earlier study on digitalization and earlier activities on water (scarcity) and field visits.

Spain: a master of water efficiency in agriculture

The Netherlands  is preparing to tackle the water shortages that it is experiencing. As Spain has lived with water scarcity for decades and knows many different landscapes; there is a lot we can learn from Spain. From reusing treated wastewater to desalination, Spain has built a skillset that can be applied to the Netherlands when it comes to agriculture and growing food.

Take digitalization: digitalization increases both resilience and precision in irrigation management. In Spain, irrigation communities such as Cartagena manages 42,000 ha with its own SCADA systems. Companies like, Global Omnium have demonstrated that digital twins are applicable in irrigation and drinking water management. Reporting 30% water savings and higher yields. But it is also important to understand how Spain manages the shortage of water. Therefore, the program was focused on both innovation in governance and in technology.

The program brought the participants from Madrid to the wetlands of L’Albufera, with stops in Cartagena, Murcia, Alicante, and Valencia. Between policy presentations, network events and field visits, real connections were made. Participants directly exchanged with 15 key Spanish players with operational, financial, technical, and institutional capacity. With support of MAPA, MITECO, Agritech Murcia and Global Ominium, the program portrayed: 

1. Governance and financial context about what is Spain doing in water efficiency and digitalization. Spain is rapidly digitalizing irrigation, €200 million are being allocated to digitize irrigation systems with European funds (PERTES)
2. Examples on how farmers cope with water scarce environments. The Dutch delegation exchanged with three of the most important irrigation communities in Spain:
   1. Cartagena uses 12 hm3 a year of wastewater and 2 hm3 of desalinated water. Over a thousand  sensors contribute to their real-time planning  to manage water efficiently for 10,000 community members.
   2. Miraflores in Murcia has used wastewater for irrigation since 2008. Wastewater is mixed with groundwater (in a ratio of approx. 3:1) to keep the salt concentration manageable. The community works with pressure-controlled drip irrigation that is fully software-controlled
   3. Real del Jucar was established in Valencia in 1258 and serves 25,000 farmers. They distribute water from Jucar river with mixed fertilizer using one digital platform. Currently, the community voluntarily allocates 11 hm³ of water annually to the L’Albufera wetland reserve
3. Insights to Murcia and Valencia the most innovative agricultural regions in water management. ESAMUR, Murcia Water Company, treats 120 hm³/year and reuses 98% of wastewater. In Valencia, the company Global Omnium, expert in digital twins, manages 700,000 smart meters, operates 400 wastewater plants and 11 desalination plants.

Key learnings

What are the main opportunities for Spanish -Dutch collaboration? The Netherlands has a long history of water management born out of a the urgency to protect the country from flooding and give economic viability to the delta areas that covers large part of the countries surface. As discussed before Spain has decades of experience on water scarcity and drought management. It is the technology applied together with the governance approach that the Netherlands can learn from. The exchange of knowledge and interaction of companies could benefit an integral water management system that serve economic sectors like agriculture, nature and the water availability and quality in both countries.

Next steps

All participants took home leads for further exchange and collaboration with Spain. Whether B2B or more research or policy related.

For the NL embassy in Spain it became even more clear that it is important to facilitate the exchange of ideas between Spanish and Dutch players. Expertise from both the Netherlands and Spain can strengthen each other’s agro-food-water-biodiversity nexus. Next steps will therefore include future exchanges to explore soil quality, biodiversity and digital innovations.

The mission was about shared challenges, different solutions, and mutual curiosity. Spain and the Netherlands are both trying to safeguard their food production and take care of the ecosystems. This integrated nexus approach is key  to secure  food systems and enhance the European strategic autonomy. In 2024 Spain and the Netherlands both signed the open letter of Portugal to the European Commission calling for water to be ‘priority in the current legislature’. The Portuguese initiative also aligns with the current European Resilience Strategy. Innovation Missions like these help to bridge the gaps between different sectors and initiatives where also expert groups call for.