This study is intended to provide a starting point for a debate on irrigation subsidies in Spain, quantified using the GSI's Method for quantifying irrigation subsidies. It reviews all relevant public data sources on subsidy policies for a variety of geographical areas and from a range of political and institutional sources, based largely on information that Spain is required to report to the European Union, as well as a number of national public bodies, including the Autonomous Political Communities and River Basin Authorities.
Key findings include:
- In total, water supply subsidies to Spanish irrigated agriculture are in the range of €900-1120 million per year (an overall subsidy rate of 55% - water user charges for projects meet only 45% of the costs). More than half of those subsidies finance the modernization and rehabilitation of water distribution infrastructures to allow for water savings.
- Water supply subsidies in Spain do not differ significantly from those granted in other EU and OECD countries: in general, the subsidization of irrigation water supply relates to the capital costs of supplying surface water. Capital costs of abstraction, storage, transportation and distribution of surface water are partly subsidized and the full costs are not recovered from users.
- In general, irrigation supply costs are not recorded and compiled with the intention of generating accurate assessments of the actual costs for specific activities. Information about specific payments made to contractors along the life cycle of a project is not available.
- The Spanish Government should consider improving the reporting criterions and requiring water authorities to publicly provide information on water costs, revenues and subsidies in a more organized and usable manner. This would include establishing the minimum level of information to be provided, the adequate level of disaggregation, the methodology used to develop it, and the formats in which information would be presented.
The report also highlights the need to develop sound replicable methods for measuring and quantifying subsidies across countries more generally, in order to measure the level of subsidies provided internationally.
This study was prepared on behalf of the GSI by Alberto Garrido from the Research Centre for the Management of Agricultural and Environmental Risks (CEIGRAM, Technical University of Madrid), and Javier Calatrava from the Technical University of Cartagena. It is to be launched publically on October 1, 2010 at Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros, Agrónomos, Technical University of Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, Madrid.
For more information on this work programme and event please email: ccharles@iisd.org
Last updated: 21 September, 2010
