Research and Innovation in Water, Agriculture and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Mediterranean Area   Sustainability of Irrigated Agriculture in Adverse Environmental Conditions: Contributions from the Region of Murcia

SCIENCE MEETS REGIONS - REGION OF MURCIA SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT SCARCITY (SEMI-ARID CLIMATE): WATER-USE EFFICIENCY AS MAIN CHALLENGE HIGH AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY HIGH EFICIENCY ON WATER USE Leading Region in Agricultural Technology: highest modernization of irrigation schemes in Spain Around 20% of Spain’s agro-food exports to the main EU markets come from the Region of Murcia… … having only 3% of all water consumption for irrigation in Spain OBJECTIVE TO PRODUCE THE HIGHEST QUALITY FOOD TROUGH SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

SCIENCE MEETS REGIONS - REGION OF MURCIA Roundtable I Research On Water Stress In The Mediterranean Area, Water Quality and Energy: Challenges And Opportunities Roundtable II Technological needs and demands. The vision from the private sector Roundtable III Innovative experiences for controlled/deficit irrigation and reuse of purified waste water for agricultural irrigation Moderator: General Director for Research and Universities. Region of Murcia Speakers:   DG Joint Research Centre. Directorate D – Sustainable Resources. Unit D.02 Water and Marine Resources Seneca Foundation Centre for Applied Soil Science and Biology of the Segura, of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) University of Murcia (UMU) Technical University of Cartagena (UPCT) Moderator: General Director of the Regional Development Agency, Instituto de Fomento. Technological Center for Environment (CETENMA) Business Clusters Agrofood AgritechMurcia Plattform Moderator: General Director for Water. Region of Murcia. Region of Murcia Institute of Agri-Food Research and Development, IMIDA Regional entity for sanitation and wastewater treatment in Murcia, ESAMUR Euro-Mediterranean Water Institute

SCIENCE MEETS REGIONS - REGION OF MURCIA

SCIENCE MEETS REGIONS - REGION OF MURCIA ROUNDTABLE 1 - Research On Water Stress In The Mediterranean Area, Water Quality and Energy: Challenges And Opportunities Climate Change: drought, severe water stress, population growth, strong water needs for agriculture, sustainable food systems, water saving solutions Irrigation systems modernization, latest technologies Importance of water culture and citizen’s awareness. Need of knowledge, research, investment, regulatory framework but also awareness in citizens ROUNDTABLE 2 - Technological needs and demands. The vision from the private sector Difficulty and cost of integrating technology in production processes such as the agri-food industry Linking the cost of water to the cost of energy. Reduce these costs through R & D. Need to develop strategies to obtain water at a lower price Identify needs, demands and unite them with lines of research. Improving knowledge transfer, and cooperation between research institutions, universities and industry. Huge challenge Mediterranean area Technology transfer Technological solutions, R&D&i Cost Reduction through R&D Mindset Communication and cooperation Huge challenge Mediterranean área: Strong impact of Climate Change on drought, severe water stress, strong water needs for agricultura, population growth, sustainable food systems, wáter saving solutions Mindset: Importance of water culture in agricultura and citizen’s awareness, as it happens in the Mediterranean. Need of knowledfe, reasearch, investment, regulatory framework but also awareness in citizens Technological solutions, R&D&i : Irrigation systems modernization, latest technologies highly widespread among irrigation communities

SCIENCE MEETS REGIONS - REGION OF MURCIA ROUNDTABLE 3 - Innovative experiences for controlled/deficit irrigation and reuse of purified waste water for agricultural irrigation Strategies to control water stress. Innovation and modernization of irrigation systems. Sufficient financial support is needed. Increase in the budget for the future seven-year programme for research and innovation HORIZON 2020. PRIMA project. Public Administration Awareness: increase the simplification of administrative procedures, prioritize criteria in contracts that are not only economic, but innovation, that the projects are of affordable size, a dimension to be able to start with pilot experiences on a small scale. Climate change is a challenge for the countries of southern Europe and especially Spain. The efforts have to serve not to get worse, but they do not reach to improve but to that the situation is maintained. Innovation and financing needs Public Sector Climate change

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