The Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, announced on Monday an increase of 100 million euros in resources for water agencies in order in particular to “improve the performance of irrigation networks”. “I am announcing to you today (Monday) that we will increase the resources of the water agencies by 100 million euros, including 40 million euros for the Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse agency”, specified the head of the government in Marseille, before the 4th annual convention of mayors of the southern region, devoted this year to the climate.
“With these additional resources, the agency will notably be able to set up projects to prevent droughts which will, unfortunately, multiply”, she underlined, recalling that “climate change makes our work all the more necessary to preserve water resources”.
“I would like us to commit ourselves more to improving the performance of irrigation networks and to greater reuse of treated wastewater,” said Ms. Borne.
“Securing the resources of water agencies”
The Minister for the Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, said in September that the 2023 budget should “protect the means of the water agencies (2.2 billion euros) to ensure better management of the resource and better prevent crisis”.
On this issue of water, the government was recently confronted with demonstrations by opponents of a “mega-basin” project in the Deux-Sèvres for agricultural irrigation, which according to them represents a form of “grabbing of water”. ‘water’ for the ‘agro-industry’.
Sainte-Soline is the second in a project of 16 substitution reserves developed by a group of 400 farmers united in the Coop de l’eau, to “reduce water withdrawals by 70%”, in the region still subject to irrigation restrictions after an unusual summer drought.
According to Christophe Béchu, the plan signed four years ago, after long consultation between farmers, elected officials, authorities and associations, made access to water conditional on changes in practices (reduction of pesticides, planting of hedges, conversion to agroecology). But none of the ten farmers using the first deduction “has subscribed to a reduction in pesticides”, according to Vincent Bretagnolle, member of the scientific and technical monitoring committee (CST) of the project, and since the signing, several associations have withdrawn from the protocol. .
Source: Europe1
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