The National Irrigation Commission began the “Bank of projects for small agriculture and food security” program, whose main objective is to increase technical irrigation in areas that have been left behind from this essential factor for agriculture.
“There are 1.5 billion pesos destined for the regions of Coquimbo, Ñuble and Los Lagos; bonuses from the Irrigation Law that we hope will improve the quality of life of dozens of peasant families with the development of modern sustainable irrigation equipment, because most of the projects will incorporate the generation of photovoltaic energy connected to the grid,” highlighted the executive director of the CNR, Wilson Ureta.
For the first small agriculture program this year, the CNR adopted a new modality, which as the main novelty highlights the agreement established in Ñuble with the University of Concepción, which developed 58 project designs, which were reviewed by the CNR, in its technical and legal components and subsequently assigned through a lottery to five construction consultants with the best qualifications in the region.
Communes benefited
In Ñuble there are 58 irrigation projects in the communes of Coelemu, Trehuaco and Cobquecura and meetings have already been organized between the beneficiaries and the consultants who will build the projects of up to 400 UF, but in some cases, there are complementary projects, which thanks to the new law, may be presented jointly, due to the new existing limit of 1,000 UF.
“In the Government of President Boric, the CNR’s policy has been to strongly bring irrigation closer to small agriculture and this is a good example of that, because 58 families in the province of Itata will significantly improve their quality of life, by irrigating with less effort, with more efficiency and at a lower cost,” said the Seremi of Agriculture, Antonio Arriagada.
Rosa Ruiz, a small farmer from the Magdalena Alto sector of Coelemu, affirms that she left the vineyards and is now innovating in greenhouses and fruit trees: “We kids have almost never been able to access these projects and with this Government the doors are opening, which which is a great achievement. We are very interested in the projects coming with solar panels because we have a lot of expenses on the electricity bill.”
Nury Fuentealba, meanwhile, is from the Guarilihue sector in the center of the Coelemu commune and is dedicated to vegetables and raising birds. “I feel that this is a great help from the Government, because it will help many of us who do not have the resources to have this type of projects, so we are excited that everything turns out well,” she expressed.
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