Bavaria invests 40 million euros in sustainable agricultural irrigation

Four pilot projects selected

The Bavarian Ministry of Environment has launched a pilot programme for sustainable and environmentally safe water production for agricultural crop irrigation. The pilot projects that will be funded under the programme have now been identified.

Four ventures will receive up to 40 million euros in funding. Their goal is to provide the best irrigation in the region while conserving water supplies and protecting them for future generations.

The Ministry will fund half of the new irrigation infrastructure's construction costs, up to a limit of 10 million euros per project. The pilot funding programme aims to establish inter-company, sustainable, and environmentally friendly watering infrastructures for different agricultural areas. Moisture from surface waters and rainwater should be used exclusively for irrigation.

10 million euros per project

Bavaria's Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber emphasized today, 16 April 2021, in a press release: "In northern Bavaria in particular, comprehensive water supply is a major issue. Climate change and drought also affect farmers in particular. We need smart projects in order to ensure the best possible irrigation of the area in the future and at the same time to handle the valuable resource water carefully. The pilot projects will show how the irrigation of tomorrow's agriculture can work."

To obtain the most comprehensive irrigation experience possible, projects from various types of cultures such as wine, hops, or fruit growing, from various natural areas, and from various applicants such as municipalities or water procurement associations had been considered.

In the city of Iphofen, vineyard sites will be equipped with a 7.2 km long water transport pipeline and temporarily stored in a storage lake. The Project Spalter Hügelland focuses on sustainable irrigation of hops and cherries. Five buffer storage tanks and 75 kilometers of pipelines enable the hop and fruit growers to have a water supply that is tailored to their needs, even in dry periods.

In the town of Nordheim, two vineyard areas will need the construction of a composite pipeline and a reservoir. In the municipality of Oberschwarzach, the irrigation concept of the vineyard areas provides for the retention and storage of heavy precipitation and the extraction of water from the existing small streams in times of high drainage.

Further measures are now needed on the part of the applicant for all projects. When all committee resolutions, legal permissions, and consents have been obtained, and all funding conditions have been met, the grant application may be sent to the responsible water management office.

After the pilot projects are completed successfully, the funding will be turned into regular funding.