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Irrigants d'Europe

IE

Articolo 2 Statuto IE - Finalità L’Associazione ha lo scopo di: a) svolgere attività di promozione e rappresentanza in sede europea ed internazionale del settore dell’irrigazione e dell’uso e gestione dell’acqua in agricoltura, rappresentando i soci presso l'Unione europea e le sue istituzioni e facilitandone la partecipazione attiva alla realizzazione delle politiche dell’acqua dell'Unione europea; b) favorire e realizzare la cooperazione nel settore dell’irrigazione e dell’uso e gestione dell’acqua in agricoltura, fra gli organismi europei di gestione dell’acqua in agricoltura c) raccogliere e fornire informazioni rilevanti, punti di vista, linee guida, documenti di lavoro e di posizionamento, pareri alle istituzioni Europee ed agli associati, e ad altre istituzioni rilevanti sul tema; d) promuovere attività utili ad evidenziare i vantaggi e le esternalità positive prodotte dall’irrigazione per l'ambiente e per la società in generale e) stimolare e attivare la comun (...)

Lobbying Activity

Response to European climate resilience and risk management law

4 Sept 2025

Irrigants dEurope-IE welcome the EU Commission initiative to facilitate a coordinated, efficient and effective action to ensure a proper level of resilience to climate change. Irrigants dEurope-IE pro-actively support water resilient farming practices, such as precision farming, high-tech irrigation systems and strategies, water reuse, improved soil management, landscape features, Nature-Based Solutions and Natural Water Retention Management implementation. The Agricultural Water Board associated to Irrigants dEurope are restlessly engaged in research, innovation, dissemination, training and capacity building - often investing their own resources - to achieve maximum water use efficiency and productivity. Irrigants dEurope-IE reiterates that irrigated agriculture and agricultural water governance are essential to keeping our towns and villages alive, generating employment, caring for the land, protecting from floods, droughts and preventing the expansion of wild fires. Achieving a real resilience to climate change will only be possible with the engagement of farmers and the enhancement of agricultural water infrastructures. Protecting them means protecting the future, not only of rural areas but also of urban areas. Irrigants dEurope-IE underline the importance of food security and access to healthy food over the EU to prevent the increase of social inequality. As regards the objectives of the present initiative, Irrigants dEurope-IE agree with the need for simplification and relief of bureaucratic burdens as well as tackling institutional barriers and inadequate policies, calling for a recast of the Water Framework Directive. In this context, Irrigants dEurope-IE emphasis the close interconnection between climate resilience and water resilience and the need for effective coordination between these two intertwined strategies, aiming to an environmentally friendly and socio-economic sustainable water use in all the sectors. Action is required to address financial barriers and market failures, providing funds commensurate with the ambition and the urgency of present challenges, promoting the use of satellite and in-situ data, AI powered digital tools, services and applications for climate risk assessment, monitoring and management, making irrigated agriculture a leading sector for the expansion of EU-made AI. Irrigants dEurope-IE reaffirms that a full involvement of irrigated agriculture representatives in the whole process of the EU climate initiative is essential to overcome behavioural, knowledge and informational barriers favouring irrigated agriculture sector stewardship. Irrigants dEurope-IE underline need of a portfolio of response options, including new water storage facilities or increased storage capacity of existing reservoirs, aquifer recharge, modernisation of irrigation systems, as well as the maintenance, expansion and digitalisation of existing agricultural water networks. Irrigants dEurope-IE highlights the strategic role water infrastructures plays in climate risk management and adaptation, specifically for the agricultural sector. Long-term plans to retain water as long as possible into the soil and in rural landscape by means of a more resilient agricultural water networks and of multifunctional storage infrastructure. Agricultural water infrastructures are pillars of the future EU climate risk management and resilience. These actions need to be implemented within a broad Water/Energy/Food/Environment (WEFE) nexus management framework at local scale. In parallel, actions are required to tackle compounding risks of drought, floods and wild fires using an open minded, non-prejudicial approach to water infrastructure and its participatory governance in rural areas. Among the keystone innovations to be sought, Irrigants dEurope-IE points plant breeding with the goal of obtaining more climate-resistant crops, a pre-requisite for a climate proof agriculture. MORE IN THE ATTACHED FILE.
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Response to Towards a Circular, Regenerative and Competitive Bioeconomy

23 Jun 2025

To transform EU economy making it more sustainable, circular, and carbon neutral, is crucial in order to reach climate and energy goals and climate neutrality, while reducing dependency on imported fossil fuels, chemicals and raw materials.To be able to stand up to these challenges, the upcoming strategy must recognise the essential role of primary production and establish the bioeconomy as a cornerstone of agricultural and environmental policies. Irrigants dEurope IE meant to draw attention on the expectation to reduce significantly the use of natural resources, particularly water, moving from traditional crops towards biomaterials production. Biomaterial are produced by the same cropping systems and applying crop husbandry techniques, involving also irrigation, to maximise the biomass production. A great leap in water saving it is not to be expected, at least in the first stages of the transition.
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Response to European Water Resilience Strategy

3 Mar 2025

Irrigants dEurope IE welcome the EU Commissions initiative to strengthen water security in Europe. In the light of the long-lasting efforts made by irrigated agriculture sector to facilitate and support a constant improvement of the long-term sustainability of water use, and of the huge investments for the adoption of technological developments, including information technology, we want emphasize that a real water resilience needs a systemic and pragmatic approach. Effective and responsive governance of the water/energy/food/environment nexus (WEFE) need to be fostered, looking at the linkage among the WEFE components while avoiding over-simplification or excessive focus on any of them. Water is only part of the portfolio of the Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy. The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, and the Executive Vice President for Cohesion and Reforms are tasked with contributing to the Water Resource Strategy. It seems that a comprehensive, multisectoral approach still is missing. Jeopardising efforts could consign the Water Resource Strategy to the role of guideline for the implementation of existing or new EU norms, missing out on the opportunity to introduce a strong, agreed-upon, driver for change. Irrigants dEurope IE welcome the EU Commission recognition that farming is about working with nature and farmers, the foundation of a resilient Europe, are not only custodians of nature but also innovators and entrepreneurs. On the basis of these concepts, we would like to recall that irrigated agriculture is the point of connection between water and agriculture, where a synthesis of the different components of the WEFE nexus can be realized in practice producing important positive environmental and socio-economic effects.
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Response to Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on minium requirements for water reuse

3 Jul 2018

Reduced water availability is already affecting EU agriculture, reducing its competitiveness in the Mediterranean, and progressively in other water scarce regions in Europe. The Internal Market is equally affected by agricultural water scarcity, which introduces changes in trade flows and affects the synergies between food industries and the surrounding territories. An integrated and participated water management approach, including water conservation and water efficiency measures, needs to rely on urban treated wastewater reuse, that can provide a reliable alternative water source for agricultural irrigation. Nevertheless, public acceptance for its application in irrigation is rather low when public health and/or the environment are perceived to be at risk. Therefore, developing consumers’ trust on the quality of reused water is a key enabling factor for public acceptance and for its large-scale reuse in agriculture and landscape. Treated wastewater could be used in the first place to restore and enhance natural habitats, maintaining minimum ecological flows of natural water bodies, which may contribute to allocating adequate water availability for irrigation while enhancing biodiversity. The appropriate use of treated wastewater depends on its quality and, therefore, on the received treatment. Ensure safe water reuse, requires appropriate water quality standards according to the specific use, but also ensuring adequate and reliable operation of water reuse systems and appropriate regulatory enforcement. As a result, water reuse schemes may have very different characteristics depending on the water source, its intended use, the quality standards established for each use and the appropriate treatment level to achieve these quality standards in an effective, cost-efficient way. Water reuse can affect soil productivity and thus the sustainability of land use for agriculture. Heavy metals, boron, and other toxic constituents, as well as salt accumulation in the root zone may have harmful medium to long-term impacts on crop yield, while pathogens can cause the rejection of agricultural products, the contamination of the food chain, and farmers exposure to health risks. Good water reuse practices should consider both the risks and the opportunities for farmers and for the whole food chain, identifying additional treatments to minimize risks. The protection of human health and the environment should therefore be undertaken in the context of a risk management approach, like that used by private food retailer organizations (“farm to fork” certification). Hence, the general objective of contributing to alleviating water scarcity across the EU by increasing the uptake of water reuse for agricultural irrigation requires ensuring the implementation of water treatment designed for the future water uses (fit-for-purpose). The cost of these treatments cannot be charged to the irrigated agriculture sector. Setting common minimum requirements for the safe reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture is suitable for most farming operations, is expected to support agricultural productivity and profitability, and can be compatible with public perception. The main challenge is to secure large, dependable flows and volumes of "fit-for-purpose" treated wastewater at a cost that treatment plants can bear and that poses no extra costs for farmers and their water management organizations. This could be impossible to achieve without a parallel, in depth revision of the rationale behind too strict national regulations already enforced. Agricultural businesses, including SMEs operating in the water sector or providing services and technologies for agriculture, will benefit from secure access to water resources. However, the capital investments required to set up the required water storage and reuse infrastructure
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